


Mirror, Mirror

by Skye_Willows



Series: The Dreamscape Saga [1]
Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF), jacksepticeye, markiplier - Fandom, matthias - Fandom
Genre: Adventure, Fantasy, Gen, Mystery, RPG, Suspense, Trapped-in game
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-01
Updated: 2018-07-01
Packaged: 2019-05-31 22:06:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 16
Words: 68,078
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15128786
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skye_Willows/pseuds/Skye_Willows
Summary: After receiving a strange invitation Mark, Jack and Matt enter a vivid digital world to test out a new technology. But when things go wrong they have to not only find their way home, but find a way to avoid the obstacles their new world has conjured; Darkiplier and Antisepticeye have come to play.





	1. A Mysterious Invitation

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Français available: [Miroir Miroir](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16267304) by [RoseAmasu](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RoseAmasu/pseuds/RoseAmasu)



> So, all of this story is already on Fanfiction.net, but after suggestions from some of my readers there I have decided to add this series to AO3.
> 
> This is a series centring on my take of Dark/Mark and Anti/Jack. It was originally posted earlier this year on FF, so all my author notes can be seen over there.

Mark groaned as barking disturbed his sleep, turning over to glare at his dog. He stole a glance at his alarm clock and sighed. "Chica, it's 4 in the morning. Do you have to go out _now?_ " he asked tiredly. His eyes opened after a large yawn to see his retriever staring up at him with adoring eyes, her tail wagging behind her. Chica padded over and gave Mark's face a lick before jumping away back towards the bedroom door. "Ugh, why are you so adorable? I just can't stay mad at you for long. _Fine._ Looks like I'm getting an early start today." With another large yawn Mark stood up and wandered downstairs, opening the door to let Chica out. She sped out without a backwards glance. "Jeepers, girl. Talk about being in a rush."

Leaving the door open for his dog to reappear when she was ready, Mark went and made himself a cup of coffee. Once it was ready he took a large mouthful, letting the caffeine do its job and get him ready for the day. _What is it with her and needing to go through the night? She's never been guilty of it until the past two weeks._ Just as that thought finished in his head Mark heard the object of his thoughts barking away again. He gave a suspicious stare, knowing that the door was left open and went over to look outside. A quick glance found Chica barking at a tree. "Chica, will you keep it down! It's ridiculous-o'clock!" he told her in an annoyed whisper. The dog turned to look at her master with a hurt expression before snarling at the tree again. Mark shook his head and went back inside. "I guess she's just in a very weird mood today."

Now semi-awake Mark went to his computer and started going through his daily routine. He smiled at the most recent comments for his videos before his mind began to wander. Realising he wasn't really up to doing anything serious at that stage of the day, Mark began skimming through his subscriptions to see what his friends had updated. Among the first few were Jack's latest videos and he smiled at seeing one which featured VR. Deciding that having a few laughs would probably do him the world of good after such a grumpy start, he clicked on it and sat back to enjoy.

An hour later and he was feeling much better about himself. A few laughs and cringes at some of the antics of his fellow Youtubers had cheered him up immensely. Then it suddenly occurred to him that he had left the door open for Chica. "Ah, shit. Hopefully whatever was bugging her has got out of her system now." He was surprised when he made his way back to the kitchen and found his dog hadn't gone back to sleep in her bed. "Chica?" he called, wondering where she had gone. Wandering over to shut the door he froze at seeing her still outside. "Chica, what are you still doing out here? Have you been here the whole time? Come on girl, let's go inside."

Chica turned to stare at Mark and padded over to him after a few seconds' thought, but not without turning to give the tree one last long look. Mark's eyebrows furrowed in thought. _Hmmm, guess she doesn't like that particular tree for some reason today. Weird._ "Did you find a ghost in that tree, Chica? Did you?" he cooed at his dog once she was back inside, kneeling down to scratch behind her ears. Chica instantly relaxed and rolled over, asking for a belly rub. "Aren't you just adorable? Yes you are!" He stood up again and went back to his computer, Chica going with him and settling at his feet and Mark returned to watching videos.

At the end of his latest one he noticed he had a new email had appeared while he was away checking on Chica and turned his attention to it. When he saw the title he was intrigued, but was mystified as to the sender.

**_Dear Mr Fischbach,_ **

**_Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Damien Villaire, and I am the head of Digitalia. We are a relatively new company for focused on an enhanced version of Virtual Reality. As part of the research and development for our system, we were hoping you would be willing to help with the testing phase. We understand you are a very busy man and may not have the time, but with your standing, reputation and experience with other VR systems, we hope you could help our endeavours. I would be delighted with any response you could provide, even if only to decline our invitation._ **

**_Warm Regards,_ **

**_Damien Villaire, CEO._ **

Mark sat back and thought over what he had just read. _What the heck? How did this guy even get this email address?_ He stared at the short message again and wondered on whether anyone else had received it. Midway through preparing a message to send to some of the others, he noticed Jack appear on Skype. _Perfect, if this thing is legit then Sean is bound to have got the same message._ He started a video call and sat back waiting, wondering if he'd caught Jack at a bad time. About ten seconds later, Jack picked up.

"Hey Mark! This is a surprise!" greeted Jack enthusiastically. From the image which appeared Mark realised that Jack was out and speaking to him via his phone. _Well it is nearly 2pm in the UK, not stupid 6am like it is here._

"Hey bud, yeah, you and me both. Trust me, being up at this god-awful time is not my idea of fun," responded Mark with a chuckle.

Jack laughed. "So why _are_ you awake at 6am? And so alert at that?"

"Chica decided she wanted outside. Where the dog barks, her master goes."

"I swear she's got you wrapped around her paw."

"True, but you can't resist her when you come and visit either."

Jack chuckled. "So, what can I do for you, Markimoo? I'm guessing it wasn't just a chat."

Mark's smile changed. "Yeah, not quite. Did you get a strange email?"

"Um, unless it was in the past hour I don't think so."

"I got mine about twenty minutes ago, so you may well have done."

"Hang on." Jack started fidgeting with his phone and Mark saw when his face changed. "Wait, what's this?" Mark sat patiently as he saw Jack reading. "What the fuck is this? Is this a joke?"

"You didn't get an email from a guy from a company called 'Digitalia', did you?"

"Yeah, I did. This is weird as shit…"

"Glad it's not just me then."

"I've never even heard of Digitalia. Are they even real?"

"Gimme a sec." Mark brought up a new tab and searched for them. "Well, they've got a Twitter account, but that's about it."

"Anything on it?"

"Not of note, but it does have the same name as the guy who sent the email."

"Hmm, sounds like this thing might be legit then."

"Maybe. I'll admit it's got me intrigued. An enhanced VR could be pretty neat."

Jack's face lit up. "You're telling me! And being involved in the testing could be really interesting."

The enthusiasm was starting to spread to Mark and he began smiling. "It would be awesome to see the mechanics behind the technology. Might just make us a bit pickier on the bad ones though." Laughter was Jack's response. "So, what are you going to respond to it?"

"I think I'm gonna ask a little bit more about it, see what they say. I'm guessing it would be in the States, so I'd have to get organised before coming over."

Mark's smile grew. "Well, if you're looking for a place to crash you are more than welcome to come here. You can even do some recordings over here if you want, depending on how long this thing is. I don't want you to burn yourself out to prep for a trip like you did last time."

Jack smiled back at him. "That would be awesome, Mark, thanks. You know what, I might take you up on both those offers. And we could get a few collaborations done together while I'm over there."

The idea was growing on Mark by the second. "I'm liking the sounds of this. All right, well if you make first contact with the guy I'll send some messages out to see if anyone else has heard from him."

"Sounds like a plan, dude. Right, I'm gonna dash for now, but I'll catch you later, Mark!"

"Take it easy, Sean. Have fun!"

* * *

 

It turned out Mark and Jack weren't the only ones contacted by Digitalia. The next day as he looked through all the replies he had received Mark noticed that Matt had said he was not only contacted, but had already gained a response on arranging a potential meeting. Deciding that he should probably speak to his old friend about this face-to-face, Mark drove over to Hi5 for a surprise drop in. As luck would have it, Matt was outside trying out what looked like a one-wheeled hoverboard for a video when he arrived.

"What the hell is that thing?" he muttered under his breath, shaking his head at it. Bryan was behind the camera and noticed Mark but said nothing, though he kept glancing over at the new arrival while Matt was busy with the hoverboard. Bryan ended up bursting laughing when Matt fell over and Mark took the opportunity to come closer, though he made sure to stay out of not only Matt's line of sight, but also out of camera shot.

"So, now that we've tried it out for a bit, I think we should set up a course and try this bad boy out. What do you think, Bryan?" Matt asked the camera, while looking at his team. By this point everyone had twigged Mark was there and all held straight faces as he crept up behind Matt.

"I dunno, bro. Hey, why don't we have Mark go first?" Bryan suggested teasingly.

Matt stared at Bryan like he had grown an extra head. "Mark? What Mark?"

" ** _This Mark_** _,"_ came a deep voice from behind Matt. He shot up with a screech at the voice and jumped away, holding his chest as everyone else dissolved in laughter. Even Mark had to hold on to his stomach in mirth as Matt's reaction. "Wow, Matt. That was special."

Matt glared lightly at everyone before turning back to Mark. "Seriously, dude? I think you scared five years off my life there."

"I'll get Amanda to bill me. That was just too priceless."

Now over his shock, Matt shook his head at the situation before clapping Mark on the back. "What are you doing down here, man? I'm surprised to see you."

"Yeah, normally I would have called first, but I just felt like taking a trip down here seeing as I had the time. Have I picked a bad day?"

"Nah, it's cool. I've got one more shoot to do for Battle Universe, then I'm all yours. Might ask Bryan or Joey if they're willing to grab us some food, that'll give us some more time."

It was safe to say that Mark's visit soon became the talk of Hi5 studios and he was introduced to everyone he hadn't met before, as well as catching up with a lot of those he hadn't seen in a few months. It saddened him slightly when he thought of how long it had been since seeing everyone but they all led incredibly busy lives. Late morning led to Mark watching in great amusement as the Battle Universe team shot another episode of NERF Hide and Seek, and he couldn't help but wonder if he could organise something like this when everyone had the time.

After that was done Matt brought Mark up to his office. "So, I'm guessing the timing of you appearing down here isn't a coincidence, Mark?" asked Matt once they had a bit more privacy.

"No surprise there. This Digitalia thing has got my interest, and I can't help but think it has yours too if you are looking at setting up a meeting," responded Mark as he took a seat.

Matt sat down behind his desk and started bringing up his correspondence. "I'll admit, it had mine from the moment I read that email. I did a lot of digging to make sure it wasn't some sort of hoax but I couldn't find much about this company; Damien gave me a lot more details when I got in contact with them." He beckoned Mark over to have a look at his screen. "Here, check this out. I've swapped a few emails with Damien so far."

Mark took his time in reading the details. According to Damien, they had been working on the project for 3 years but had only managed to create the level of technology they were looking for in the past six months. Included was a weblink which led them to their group's website. Mark stared at everything intently. "Hmmm, they seem very private, but I think this could be the real deal."

"That's what I was thinking. I'll admit I spent a lot of time thinking about it yesterday and this morning. I was quite glad to see that you'd been contacted by them too. Do you know if anyone else has heard from them?"

"Yeah, a few people got emails, but the only other one I know is interested is Sean. I spoke to him about it yesterday and he sounded pretty keen. I wonder if he heard back from Damien as well." On the off-chance Mark checked his Skype and found Jack was online. "Well, would you look at that. Why don't we ask him?"

Matt moved over to allow Mark to log on to his Skype account on his computer, and barely two rings had gone by when Jack picked up. "Yo, Mark!" came through the Irish accent as the video began to catch up. This time Jack was in his recording space, which made for a much easier conversation.

"Hey, Sean," replied Mark warmly, "I've got company this time."

Matt waved at the camera. "Hey, dude, long time no speak."

Jack smiled as he waved back. "Hey, Matt! It's been a while."

"No kidding, how long has it been since we've seen each other?"

"Too bloody long, but you're a big bad CEO now! How you have any time to yourself is beyond me."

The three chatted for a few minutes about innocuous topics, swapping a few stories before they reached the main point of their call. "So, did you get anywhere when you replied to Digitalia, Jack? I've managed to get a bit of a correspondence going," started Matt.

"Yeah, and the more I speak to him, the more I fancy going ahead with this, actually. What do you guys think of it?" answered Jack

"I think this could be the real deal, Mark hasn't said anything in response yet."

Mark took that as his cue to jump in. "I've spoken to a lot of the others and most of them either don't have the time, or have too many suspicions. It sounds like it could just be the three of us that may end up becoming involved in this."

"I wonder why they picked a bunch of Youtubers?" questioned Jack aloud.

"Damien was pretty open when I asked him why he got in contact with me, and he said it was due in parts to both my experience with VR technology, and also the fact that we _are_ Youtubers. If we publicly endorse something like this, it'll have a great effect on their product. We'll connect with people a lot more than just some reviews in magazines."

"Hmmm, never thought of that. Guess it makes sense then. So, are we going to go for it then? I think for me it mostly depends on how long they would need us for."

"I'm the same, I couldn't really be away from Hi5 for too long. With enough warning I could bulk record enough videos to last a couple of weeks, but I wouldn't want to push it any further than a month."

"Know that feeling. Much as I enjoy coming over to the States, I couldn't be gone for too long."

Mark hummed in thought. "Let's send Damien a message and see what he says. Depending on how long he says the testing may take, we can either go separately or together."

Matt nodded in agreement. "That sounds like a good idea. What do you think, Jack?" They received a nod from the Irishman. "Right, who's going to co-ordinate this then? It'll probably get really messy if all of us have separate email conversations with him."

"Matt, you've got enough of a workload here at Hi5 and Sean has the small issue of the 8-hour time difference. I suppose for expedience it's best if I do it," suggested Mark.

"I'm cool with that."

"Same here. This could be a lot of fun!" stated Jack with a small clap.

Mark nodded with a smile on his face. "Yeah." He turned to smile at Matt before switching back to the screen. "I get the feeling this could be something big we're getting involved with."

Matt raised an eyebrow at him. "Mark, you have a habit of jinxing things."

Jack roared in laughter. "So, if things go tits up we're blaming Mark. That sounds like a plan to me."

The half-Korean glared at the pair of them. "Why is it always my fault?"

"Because you have a habit of attracting trouble and/or ending up in the hospital?"

Matt roared with laughter as Mark scowled. " _Haha_ , very funny, Sean."

Jack winked. "Just recounting history, my friend. Leave your curse at home and we'll be all good!"

 

 


	2. We're Going On An Adventure!

It took about two weeks of correspondence for Mark, Jack and Matt to agree a meeting with Digitalia. Firstly, they had to sign lots of non-disclosure forms regarding the technology and agree to keep their dealings with the company out of the public eye, until such time as a full release was arranged. Then they had to wait for Damien to pass on more details of the intended testing. It turned out he was asking for their help for only 6 days initially, but that if they were open to an extended stay, he would like their company for two weeks. The trio agreed to two weeks, as that would be much easier for Jack with travel arrangements. With that sorted, they set their first face-to-face for three weeks afterward. Then came the hard work of them all preparing videos for their absence.

With two days to go until the meet, Mark was standing in LA International Airport, waiting for Jack to arrive. The Irishman had decided to come over a couple of days early to adjust to the time difference a bit better before going to Digitalia; as well as to record a couple of surprise collaborations with Mark. He'd explained in his videos that we would be in the States for three weeks, but hadn't said any more than that. Mark and Matt hadn't stated that they were taking a break from their channels, having managed to record enough to last the 16 days which they would be away. It turned out that Digitalia was based in a disused USAF base about 200 miles north of LA, Matt would be driving them there the day before they began 14 days of solid work. After five weeks of planning, all three of them were becoming excited.

Mark's eyes skimmed over the crowds, trying to catch sight of his favourite Irishman when he felt a presence next to him. A young couple were smiling at him shyly before one of them gained the courage to ask Mark for an autograph. He smiled back, loving when he managed to meet some of his fans, and took the pen and paper. After asking for their names he scribbled a small note along with his signature. When he looked back up he spied a familiar face a few metres away, but his attention was then stolen when one of the two young women asked Mark if they could get a photograph. Mark took her phone and switched it around to take a selfie, smiling as he realised they were about to have a fourth person join them.

"Mind if I photobomb?" came a voice from behind them, leading to the pair screaming in delight at seeing Jack appear. Mark chuckled as he took a few snaps, including their shock at seeing Jack join them. The pair then swiftly asked Jack for his autograph too, before leaving with beaming smiles. Jack and Mark both watched them walk away with matching grins. "That was awesome," said Jack as he turned to face Mark again.

"Yeah, their faces when you appeared behind them were priceless," laughed Mark. "I'm guessing they didn't twig it was you with the glasses."

Jack shrugged. "I couldn't be arsed wearing contacts today, not with all the travelling. Besides, it'll make life easier when we get playing a few games later."

The pair collected Jack's luggage and were soon on their way back to Mark's house. They left Jack's suitcase in the car, all he needed for the two nights he would be staying at Mark's in his backpack. Once they were inside Jack dumped his gear in the spare bedroom and swiftly crashed on the sofa in the living room. Mark chuckled. "You'd better not be wiped for what I've got in mind for you," he stated teasingly.

Jack raised an eyebrow as he smiled knowingly. "Mark, I thought we agreed to keep the Septiplier for the fan girls only? I don't think Amy or Signe really fancy sharing us," he replied with a wink.

That earned a laugh. "Very funny, Sean. Nope, I've got a better idea." Jack looked at him inquisitively. "We're going to go on VR Chat at the same time and just cause havoc."

Jack's eyes lit up at the prospect. "That sounds fucking awesome, man! Come on!"

Mark smiled fondly at him as Jack began setting everything up, the expression turning slightly melancholy. He really wished the two of them didn't live at opposite sides of the world. Jack was one of his best friends and they didn't spend nearly as much time together as he wanted them to. _I hope we'll get to spend some quality time together at Digitalia. I'd hate for us to spend every day working our asses off only to be too tired to enjoy each other's company._

* * *

 

That night found them both sat in the living room, playing some Overwatch as they both munched on pizza they'd had delivered. The two of them were intensely focused on the game when they heard the doorbell go. After sharing a puzzled look with Jack, Mark stood up to get the door, tossing his controller to Jack in attempt to stop him from causing too much chaos in the match. He spied Chica wagging her tail at the door and realised it had to be someone she knew. _Who would be coming over at this time?_

Mark should have realised who would be waiting on the other side. "Matt?"

Matt waved as Chica began to beg for attention from their new arrival. "Hey, dude. Bad time?"

"Nah, not at all, I'm just a little surprised. I thought you would have messaged me first?"

"Amanda and Luna are out for the night, so I thought I'd drop by to see whether you've killed Jack or not yet."

"Well, let's find out." Mark looked over his shoulder as he shouted towards the living room. "Sean, you dead?"

An angry Irish voice echoed through the house. "I've died twice trying to save your ass, ya shite! I'm dying more than you!"

The pair laughed at the response. Mark spun back with a smile. "That answer your question?"

Matt shook his head. "I thought you guys would be fed up of games in your spare time given your channels, but you're still at it now?"

Mark shrugged. "Some things you can never get enough of." Once Matt was inside the pair wandered back through to the living room, Chica racing ahead of them and taking her place back between Jack and Mark. Since discovering she now had someone new in the house, she'd barely left Jack's side.

Jack turned to face Matt in surprise. "Hey, man! Wasn't expecting to see you until Monday! What's the occasion?"

Matt smiled as he sat down. "Was on my own tonight, so decided to check in. The flight over wasn't too bad I take it?"

"Pah! As if! Twice the plane went into a mini freefall cause of turbulence! Safe to say I swore rather a lot, the one consolation was that other people were doing the same. Was just a tad relieved to touch back down on solid ground." Both Mark and Matt chuckled at Jack's storytelling, and before long the three of them were playing together on some party games Mark had installed on his PlayStation. They'd been at it for roughly an hour before conversation turned to the reason of why all three of them were working together. "So, what do you two think of this whole Digitalia thing? I'm pretty stoked now that we're here. It seems strange to think we got that email 5 weeks ago!"

"I know, and it was a lot of back and forth for the first week," continued Matt. "A few of the guys at the office are intensely curious about where I'm heading off to: the only person who has any idea where I am going is Amanda. I told her I'm working with you two on something to do with VR, I didn't say any more than that."

"That's pretty much what I told Signe. She says hi, by the way, and wishes she was here too. If it weren't for the fact we had to keep everything so quiet, I would have happily had her come with us." Jack turned to Mark. "I'm guessing you told Amy something similar?"

"I said a little more than that; she's taking Chica for the next couple of weeks." The dog's ears perked up at her name and she wagged her tail as she stared at her master. Not that it encouraged her to move from Jack's lap in the slightest. Mark glared good-naturedly at Jack. "You know, when I said you could stay here, that didn't mean you could steal my dog. She's barely moved from your side since we sat down!"

Jack smirked and cuddled the retriever, who began begging for more attention. "Not my fault I'm so lovable, is it?" he shot back. He quickly felt when Chica's demeanour changed, however, and yelped as she kicked his stomach while she leapt away. "Fuck! Chica, that hurt!" All three men watched the dog as she went tearing to the patio doors and started barking, scraping furiously in an attempt to get free. Jack and Matt both gave her a strange look when she began snarling, the expression intensifying as Mark sighed and stood. "Ummm, what? I've never known Chica to be aggressive."

Mark opened the door and watched as she bolted out, standing at the bottom of the same tree she had been for the past few weeks and making her anger known. "She's not, and this is why I'm so confused. Chica's been doing this for about five weeks now, it's what woke me up the morning we got that first email from Digitalia."

"What's got her so worked up then?"

"No clue, but she does the same thing every time. Something catches her attention, and then she sits at the bottom of that tree and barks at it. She can be at it for hours sometimes."

"Maybe she doesn't like that tree?" suggested Matt.

"Or you've got a ghost," chipped in Jack.

Mark gave him a cynical look. "Seriously, Sean? That's your answer?"

"I've seen cats who are at opposite sides of a room follow the same thing move all around it! Ghosts are real, dude."

"Right, and I've got one stalking my house because…?"

"Bound to have a crush." Mark and Jack both turned to Matt at his comment. After a few seconds of silence, the three of them burst out laughing. Their attention soon turned back to their expectations for the upcoming weeks, but in the back of his mind Mark couldn't help but wonder whether Jack actually had a point. It certainly was weird.

_Great, last thing I need is a haunted house. Hopefully with no-one here for a couple of weeks, this will all be back to normal._

* * *

 

The day of their trip arrived and the trio were all excited. Jack had been up earlier than Mark, which was a complete first: Mark was a morning person, Jack was definitely _not_. They'd had enough conversations at 4 in the morning UK time for Mark to work out that Jack was much more of a night owl. As Jack loaded the car with the rest of their gear Mark finished organising all his videos, as well as leaving instructions for his team on when to release everything. He knew all their fans would be surprised by the two vlogs he and Jack had recorded together, as well as the three challenge videos they'd done. He was hopeful of seeing the reception not too long after they went live, but he wasn't sure how much time they would have at Digitalia.

It was just gone 10am when they set off, Chica now safely in Amy's hands, as they headed to Matt's. He was standing outside, playing with Luna while chatting to Amanda when Mark and Jack appeared. They spent about an hour at their house before the trio departed, ready for the 200-mile drive to Digitalia's complex. "I am so stoked for this!" exclaimed Jack as they pulled away from Matt's house. "This feels like a road trip!"

"Well I guess you could say it is, except there's going to be a lot work involved," answered Matt.

"Woo! Adventure!" Both Mark and Matt laughed at Jack's enthusiasm, it was definitely contagious. Throughout the 4 hour drive the three of them talked animatedly about their thoughts regarding the project and what they hoped to see. As Damien had been so tight-lipped thus far, they didn't really have much to go on.

They finally pulled off the highway and into the desert, following the instructions sent by Damien the previous night to a plateau. On the horizon they could see a structure, an old military base just as he said. "This can't be right," began Mark, eyeing it with suspicion. "This place looks in complete disrepair; there's no way this is where Digitalia is based."

"Well, maybe it is," suggested Matt. "With all the secrecy involved in this, it wouldn't surprise me if the front is just for show. Damien certainly seemed paranoid about us not revealing anything."

"Makes me wonder why he picked a bunch of Youtubers to test this things out," added Jack. "We're not exactly known for being a quiet lot."

"Nah, that's just you, Sean," Mark threw in cheekily.

"This coming from the King of Screaming himself!"

"Hey, at least my screaming is from legitimate terror! Yours are just because you feel like it!"

"Not all of them! And some of my terrified screams are better than yours! And let's not forget, Matt's screams are pretty memorable too."

Matt turned to glare at Jack briefly. "Hey! Just cause my screams are high-pitched!"

"Matt, I swear dogs would cringe at some of yours."

"He's got a point," added Mark, "you did scare Chica with them before."

Matt sighed and pulled over in what looked like a former car park. "Well, I guess this is it. You want to take a look around first?"

The three of them exited the car, leaving behind their belongings for now as they wandered to an old door. It appeared severely corroded and looked like it hadn't been in use for years. Mark took a close look before attempting to turn the handle, amazed when it not only moved easily, but the door swung open without any effort. "Safe to say this door has been used recently. Come on, let's check it out."

Mark led the way, Jack and Matt close behind as they took a look around their surroundings: the walls were concrete, as were most of the floors, which were in a bad state of decay. Chunks were missing from multiple areas, and there were some sizable holes in the ceiling as well. The holes were fortunate, however, as there was no lighting in operation. All the illumination came from the openings above, giving the surroundings a very creepy feeling.

After sharing a look between each other, they began walking further in, looking around for any clue as to whether they were in the right place. "Hello?" called Jack, stretching around a corner to look down an adjoining corridor. Matt walked on ahead, trying to see if there was any sign of life. They continued into the complex for another couple of minutes, shouting to see if there was anyone inside before they came to what appeared to be an old foyer of some sort. The three of them split up to different areas of the room, looking for any clues. Jack growled after having looked through a file cabinet, not a thing left inside. "Anyone else get the feeling this is a bust?"

Mark sighed as he moved to behind a reception desk, scanning through a few scraps of paper. He could just make out a few scribbles, and one thing stood out to him. "Hey, Matt. When was it that Damien said this place was abandoned?"

"1982, how come?" answered Matt, confused.

"Cause this little note here has the date, 18th March 1982. I think this may be the right place."

"But how can it be? The whole thing is a wreck!"

"Maybe you weren't wrong about the whole front thing. What if Damien is waiting to see whether we are interested enough to find him in here?"

"What, so it's some sort of test?" suggested Jack. "That's nuts!"

The three of them continued looking around, following Mark's hunch. Another five minutes later, Matt saw something down a corridor that made him stop abruptly. "Guys, I think I've found something." Jack and Mark came to join him, staring down the passageway to see what had caught Matt's attention: light was shining out from beneath a door. Light that was quite obviously artificial. "That doesn't look out of place at all, does it?" he continued with an edge of sarcasm

They approached the door warily, suspicious of what lay within. Matt was the first to reach it and was about to pull it open when, on a whim, he decided to knock instead. The three of them almost jumped out of their skins when they received one back, and a voice accompanied it.

"Come on in, gentlemen. I'm glad to see you found your way here."

Sharing a look of utter disbelief, they paused for a couple of seconds before Matt opened the door. The light inside was almost blinding, but they all looked around in awe. "Holy shit…" whispered Jack, and the other two couldn't help but echo that thought. To say the room was a surprise would be a colossal understatement.

The walls were covered in what looked like futuristic white tiles, as was the floor. The roof was covered in an assortment of wiring and pipes, all connecting to a device in the centre of the room. It looked like a tree crafted out of plastic and cables, with several human-sized capsules at the bottom. Monitors and what looked like medical equipment was set up next to each of the pods, and wires extended out from each of them to a series of computers along the far-right wall. Six screens were lined along it, all of them displaying a range of numbers and computer code. They were so focused on all the technology that when a chuckle sounded from their left, they all jumped. "I can imagine it is quite a sight given what you've seen of the complex thus far."

Now aware they were not alone, they turned to see a man in his early forties, long brown hair pinned back neatly and glasses framing a defined face. He towered over the three of them, unsurprising given Matt was the tallest out of the three Youtubers at a mere six feet, and was wearing a white lab coat over a shirt and trousers. His eyes were warm and welcoming as he walked over slowly. "Apologies for the whole charade outside, gentlemen, but in today's climate you can never be too careful. The technology in this building is cutting-edge and, in an effort to deter any rivals, we have made sure to only renovate a small portion of the base. Just enough to make life comfortable for our time here, nothing more. Makes it that much easier for an event where we have to leave," he explained, coming to a stop before the trio. "I'm sure you have many questions, and I will quite happily answer all of them. I just wanted to be certain you were quite committed to this endeavour, before we began."

Mark's eyes narrowed slightly. "So that was a test, to see whether we were invested enough to keep looking." The stranger's head nodded. "What would you have done had we not found this place?"

He chuckled. "I was keeping an eye on you through the security cameras, I would have left you a few hints had I believed you were giving up. But enough of that for now, I believe introductions are in order."

The three began to relax and shared unsure smiles. "I'm Mark." Mark offered a hand to their company, who took it easily.

"Matt."

"Sean." Handshakes accompanied each introduction, and the stranger's smile grew.

"Damien Villaire, at your service. I'm looking forward to working with the three of you."

Mark, Matt and Jack all smiled back as Matt answered. "Likewise, Damien. I think it's safe to say the three of us are all excited for what's to come."

Damien's smile turned slightly, taking a more knowing edge. "The feeling is mutual, gentlemen. I think there is much to come in the next couple of weeks."

 

 


	3. Enter The Dreamscape

Once they realised they were in the right place, Matt, Mark and Jack all grabbed their luggage from the car. Damien showed them to their accommodation for the next two weeks and the trio were all delighted with what they found: each of their rooms consisted of a large bedroom with double bed, a small living room complete with kitchenette, and a bathroom. Plenty of space for them to unwind. Each room had a nice computer setup, though there was very limited internet access. They soon realised that Digitalia was serious about keeping its secrets to the point where almost every website which had any form of chat or communication was disabled. All social media platforms were also blocked. Even emails had to be unlocked, and could only be done so with a code received from a member of Digitalia staff. While it meant there was no chance of them managing to check up on their channels, it did not bother them too much.

They all went with Damien on a tour of the small facility, who then proceeded to explain a lot about the company. "Digitalia was set up by myself a few years ago with the aim of breaking through the barriers which exist in integrating technology with our everyday lives," he began as they toured through the communal areas. "Our team is very small, only seven members, but we are all highly experienced and experimental thinkers. We are not afraid to push the boundaries. It was one of my staff which came up with the idea to revolutionise VR technology, and I was more than happy to follow on her idea. Three years later we are finally ready to begin the testing phase. It has been a lot of hard work, a lot of trial and error. We've made more than our fair share of mistakes along the way." As they walked through the main lounge Matt spied some photographs on the wall.

He soon realised what wasn't right. "Damien, you said your team was seven members? Then why are there eight photographs on that wall?"

Damien's eyes shadowed slightly. "Ah…we lost a member of our team about a year ago. There was an…accident with the technology. We have since ensured circumstances will not repeat themselves, and we learned our lessons well."

All three of the Youtubers stopped dead in their tracks. "Wait, what happened to them?" asked Jack, suddenly concerned.

Damien sighed. "We were not careful enough, and she volunteered to test the technology before any of us were confident of it being ready. She never recovered. Since then we have been much more careful. Millions of simulations have now been run, and that same issue should now not arise again." His focus shifted to one photograph in particular; the others turned their attention to it. They saw a young woman who could be no older than her late twenties, smiling gently at the camera. Curly brown hair was gathered over one shoulder and her eyes were a vibrant green. "The Dreamscape was her vision, and after we lost her…it took some time for any of us to focus on it in the same way again."

Mark, Matt and Jack followed as Damien began to walk back through the facility, leading them back to the room they first met. Their eyes took in the structure in the centre, with Matt and Jack beginning to take a closer look at it. "This was her idea?" asked Mark softly.

Damien nodded. "Yes, she wanted to create something far more immersive than your simple Virtual Reality. This was her solution: a Digital Reality as she called it."

"What does all this equipment do?" asked Jack as he tried sitting inside ones of the pods.

"Ah, well that is a long story. I will give you the simplest version I can, or I may be here for several hours explaining the intricacies of this technology." Damien walked over to where Jack was seated and opened a panel next to the pod. He pulled out two small discs, about the size of a quarter, and allowed the Youtuber to examine them closer. "These are the secret to the whole process." He pulled out another two sets and showed them to Matt and Mark.

"The Dreamscape is, in essence, an incredibly complex computer simulation. Layers upon layers of programming woven together to create a new world. The power required to run it is immense, and this whole facility is the conduit. Without such a structure, it would overload and endanger anyone inside."

Matt's eyes narrowed. "Wait, what do you mean…inside?"

Damien smiled. "The discs you are holding emit specially designed supersonics. It slows your brain to a very low level, and your body mirrors it. It is the closest state a human can reach to hibernation. Your heartrate drops to only around 10 beats a minute, your respiration becomes almost undetectable and your normal body functions are just…suspended. You don't need to eat, we make sure you are fully hydrated before you go under. With your body in the correct conditions we then, for lack of a better word, upload your brain to the Dreamscape."

All of the Youtubers' eyes widened, and Jack's mouth hung open. "I didn't think such a technology was invented yet!" he exclaimed as he regained some of his bearings.

Damien smiled knowingly. "It helps to have a member of your team who has been involved in military simulation work. You'd be…amazed at what technology is in development. Working together, we managed to adapt it for the purposes of the Dreamscape. What it boils down to is: you go to sleep, and you wake up inside the Dreamscape. What situation you enter is entirely down to what you are looking for."

"So, you could program literally anything…" said Mark in a slight daze.

"Yes, and as you are all aware, what happens in a dream feels real. That is what it feels like. You'd scarcely be able to tell the difference."

Matt was still wary. "What went wrong before then? When you lost a member of your team?"

"She entered the Dreamscape no problem and completed the test. But when it came to exiting…something in the code was broken. As that part of the development was her own construction, it was difficult for us to see what was wrong. Eventually too much time had passed. Your body can't stay in the hibernation forever, it becomes dangerous and without the mind…"

"She died."

Damien nodded. "She was a great loss to us, and it took many weeks before we even had the heart to return to work. In the end we all agreed to finish it in her memory, so that she wasn't lost in vain."

It was then that something occurred to Jack. "Hey, how come we haven't seen anyone else yet? Where are the rest of your team?"

"Now that was have reached the testing phase, not everyone has to be based in the facility anymore. Most of the others have gone back to their families and are working from home. I still have one member of staff onsite, but he is on vacation for the week. He'll be re-joining us next Tuesday."

"So, it's just you for now?"

"I hope this is not too troubling for you all. It does mean that we can all work in relative peace." Just then a ringtone broke through the atmosphere. Damien retrieved his phone from his pocket and look at them all apologetically. "I'm sorry, gentlemen. I should take this. Please feel free to examine the room all you like." With that Damien turned his attention to the incoming call.

Now left to their thoughts, the three Youtubers gathered in the centre of the room. "What are you guys thinking about this?" asked Matt. "I'm not the only one who is slightly…unnerved by the danger element here, am I?"

"No, you're not, but this technology is blowing my mind…" answered Jack. "I mean, to literally jump into a computer? Live out a simulation as if real? That's incredible!"

"It is, and you could see that losing a member of his team affected Damien greatly. I believe that he's taken more care now, and I can't see us being the _very_ next ones to jump into this thing. I'm sure he and his team have taken their turns at trying it out. We've all still got questions, so let's ask him more." The three talked amongst themselves for a few more minutes, making their opinions clear. Mark was still open-minded about the technology while Jack's enthusiasm hadn't dimmed, sure that they wouldn't have invited outsiders without being absolutely certain of its safety. Matt, however, was now much more sceptical. He wasn't entirely sure he wanted to become involved with a project which had already resulted in someone's death.

Damien ended his phone call and turned back to his guests. "You have my sincerest apologies, gentlemen. That was my second, Simon, ensuring that you had arrived safely and were settling in. He says he looks forward to meeting all of you when he comes back next week." He noticed the cautious looks he was receiving from the trio. "You have more many more questions, I can see it written all over your faces."

Mark took the lead. "We do, and we are all in different mindsets regarding the testing. I hope you would not mind answering a few more questions?"

Damien's smile was friendly and accepting. "Not all, fire away."

* * *

 

By the time they were all ready to turn in for the night, most of the issues were resolved. Matt was still not one hundred percent on board, but Damien offered to demonstrate the technology with a basic simulation the following day before they all had to commit to something more complicated. Jack and Mark were both willing to try, and they'd all agreed on Mark being the one to go inside, trusting him not to get too overexcited. They'd started out in Mark's rooms after leaving Damien for the night, but Matt soon left. He was anxious to talk to Amanda, needing her reassurance that it was worth the risk. Mark and Jack could both understand his reluctance: he always put his family first, and he wasn't going to chance putting them through any pain if anything went wrong, not without being sure.

After he left Mark was half expecting Jack to leave as well, especially as he hadn't fully adjusted to the time difference yet, but was surprised to see him sprawled out on the sofa, staring up at the ceiling. His face was scrunched in concentration, something that was quite out of character. "You okay, Sean?" Mark asked as he sat down next to his friend.

Jack nodded but didn't change his focus. "Just thinking."

"What about, man?"

For a few seconds Jack didn't say anything, debating on whether to let Mark into his thoughts but eventually sighed. He sat up and changed his stare to the floor instead. "I'm excited for this thing, I really am, but I can't get what Matt said out of my head. What if...what if something does go wrong? He said he wasn't sure he wanted to risk putting his family through anything like that. I just can't shake the thoughts of what my family's reactions would be."

Mark thought for a couple of seconds. "Yeah, I know what you mean. I couldn't imagine someone telling my family if there had been an accident. I wonder how Damien handled having to tell someone's loved ones they are gone… But remember what Damien said? They've all been in the Dreamscape well over a hundred times since then, there are countless safety features built in now. There is no foreseeable risk to us, and you're right in what you said earlier: there is no way they would have invited us, three well known and famous Youtubers, had they not been sure it was safe. Could you imagine what the negative publicity would do to them?"

Jack nodded. "Yeah, you're right, dude. Guess I'm just nervous. Some of what Damien was saying just got me thinking. I mean, he said that we feel _everything_ in there as real, including pain. I wonder whether it dampens the magnitude of it slightly?"

"I imagine it would, I don't think this thing would be a bestseller if they made the participants feels the _real_ pain associated with something like a broken leg."

Jack laughed. "Totally. Or worse, that ninja simulation he brought up earlier. Imagine getting a shuriken star thrown at you and landing!"

"Especially if it was your ass. You'd never be able to sit again!"

"Oh gads, no thanks! I'd rather keep my ability to shite unhindered!" The pair dissolved into laughter, feeling lighter after talking out their fears. "I hope Matt comes around, I think this could be something really special. Digitalia have invested so much in this and you can feel how much Damien wants this to succeed. This could change the world."

"Yeah, it really could. I think Matt just got himself slightly wound up. He's a lot more methodical than us, he looks at all the angles before he commits. It's a pretty good trait to have when you run a business like he does. I'm sure Amanda will help him see clearly again." Mark's eyes shifted to the computer in his room. "Hey, want to see what sort of stuff there is on this computer? I'm sure we could find something to help take our minds off it for a while."

A smile broke out on Jack's face. "I'm all over this dude! Let's go have a looksie!"

The pair stayed up half the night playing various multiplayer games, glad to see that they had enough internet to access various websites which didn't have any chat features and were not blocked. Slipping back into their normal lives helped to reassure them that the whole situation was more than they were making it out to be, and they were just testing out an enhanced VR. It was gone 3am by the time Jack started to fall asleep sitting up, Mark not far behind him. Jack didn't even make it back to his rooms and crashed on Mark's sofa, out for the count. The American chuckled and didn't have the heart to move him, fetching a spare blanket from the foot of his bed and draping it over the Irishman before he too fell asleep.

* * *

 

The next morning the three were all ready to start testing. Just as Mark suspected, Matt was prepared after speaking to Amanda. She'd assured him to go with his gut feeling, but not let the opportunity slip him by because of fear. With her words of wisdom he was at last comfortable enough to commit and had met Damien early to try and look through some of the code, curious behind the inner workings.

Jack and Mark had appeared late morning, sharing a smile at seeing Matt and Damien chatting animatedly in the testing room. With a few greetings they soon turned their attention to the main feature of the morning. "Right, Mark, are you ready?" asked Damien, handing out two of the discs he had shown the trio the previous day.

Mark smiled at him. "Sure, let's give it a whirl."

Damien showed him how to place the items on his temples and activated them. Matt and Jack both watched in fascination as they glowed a deep yellow colour. "That's the uplinks on standby mode. Once we get Mark settled we'll switch them on. How do you feel, Mark?"

"It's…a little weird. It's like I've got a permanent echo of static in my ears."

Damien laughed. "That's the supersonics. Don't worry, you'll get used to it quickly." Mark soon sat inside one of the pods and leaned back. The outer casing was metal, surrounding what looked like a padded deck lounger. At the ends of each arm were rests for their hands, and specially designed slots for their fingers. "We use these to monitor your vitals throughout the simulation, while the uplinks will track your brain activity. There are monitors above you, they show everything for whoever is in control: if I find you are under any duress I will switch off the machine and pull you out." Mark looked up and saw three computer monitors attached to the main column. "The top one will show your respiration and heartrate, the middle one tracks your brain activity while the bottom-one is your _in-game_ vitals. Jack and Matt will notice they will be markedly different from your state out here."

As Mark got settled Jack noticed Mark's heartrate was quite high: 106 "Nervous, man?" he asked reassuringly. "I'm still happy to do this instead."

Mark smiled back gratefully. "Nah, I'm good, Sean. Just eager to get going." He turned back to Damien. "What do you need me to do?"

Damien gave a quick smile. "Just sit back, relax, and let me do all the hard work. You'll just feel very sleepy before waking up again in the Dreamscape. It's as simple as that." A few minutes of fiddling with various equipment found them ready to go. Jack and Matt both watched from behind the main workstation as Damien brought up several screens, booting up a few programs before he turned his attention back to Mark. "Okay, Mark. I'm just about to start the uplink. Let me know when you're good to go."

Taking a deep breath to steady his nerves, Mark eventually nodded slowly. "I'm ready."

Damien started inputting various commands to the keyboard. "Initializing Mental Matrix, simulation is running. Starting uplink…now." With that final keystroke Jack and Matt watched in fascination as they saw the discs on Mark's temples change to a pale blue glow. Mark's breathing became noticeably slower and they saw his whole body relax. On the life monitors above they watched as his brain activity slowed right down and his heart rate dropped steadily. It eventually held at 9 beats per minute as Mark's brain activity began to increase again. The third monitor then booted up, showing Mark's heartrate as a steady 60 beats.

"Holy shit," whispered Jack as he came to stand next to his friend. Even from that distance he could barely tell Mark was breathing. "This is fucking _freaky_ dude…" A thought then occurred to Jack. "Wait, can he hear us?"

Damien shook his head. "Nope. His body is now completely dormant. Externally he appears as if in a deep coma, but his mind isn't in his body any more. He's inside the Dreamscape. Have a look." Jack wandered back over and stared with Matt as Damien pointed out another screen. "This is the Mental Matrix. This is what allows your mind to travel freely between your body and the Dreamscape. It converts your conscious and subconscious thoughts to data streams, and vice versa. Without this, the Dreamscape would be nothing more than a simulation. Add this element…and you can make it come alive."

Matt stared in wonder. "So Mark's mind is literally in this computer. _Right now?_ "

"Yes, in fact we should hear him come through the headsets any second. Here." Damien handed one each to Matt and Jack before tapping away on the keyboard again. "The simulation is finished loading, Mark should be waking up inside it any minute."

"I wonder what he sees in there…"

Damien smiled at Matt. "You'll find out soon. Ah, here we go. Mark, can you hear me?"

* * *

 

Mark felt decidedly groggy as he opened his eyes, a slight headache forming at his temples. "Yikes, where'd this come from? I thought Damien said I wouldn't notice anything." He squinted at the brightness for a few seconds before taking in his surrounding fully. When he did, his breath was taken away.

He _definitely_ wasn't in the real world. This was…far more incredible.

A green field spread for as far as the eye could see, but at the end he saw mountains stretching far into the sky. A sky which was currently streaked pink from the sunset…except the sun was still high in the sky. His gaze turned to the left and saw a glow at the horizon, confirming that it really was sunset. _Two suns…_ A gust of wind then caught him off-guard and he shivered at the cold burst, before his breath froze in his lungs.

_It that a **fucking dragon?!**_

Not willing to take test his and Jack's theory about pain levels in the simulation, Mark dove for cover behind a nearby boulder. A fire blast soon shook the ground a few metres away from him, and even from there he could feel the intense heat. "Whoa!" he exclaimed, watching as the dragon flew off into the sunset. Sure that the threat was past, he stood, staring in complete awe at the world around him. _How can this be a computer simulation? This is fucking incredible! No wonder Damien feels so strongly about this. It- It…_

_This really feels like another world. It feels **real**._

An echo started in Mark's head and it pulled him away from the scenery. " **Mark, can you hear me?** "

Mark about jumped out of skin. "Damien, is that you?"

" **Nice to hear you, how's it looking in there?** "

"It's…It's utterly _amazing."_

" **Mark, is it really that convincing?** "

Mark smiled at hearing Matt's voice. "Guys this is…I really can't describe it. It's _literally_ like being in a fantasy world. I wouldn't be able to tell the difference were it not for the two suns and dragon flying around."

" **Wait, a dragon, seriously?** "

" **Damn it! Knew I should have gone in!** "

Mark couldn't help but laugh at Jack's tone. "Don't worry, man. You'll get to try this out soon enough."

" **Mark, take a look at your left arm for a second.** " Mark did so at Damien's instruction and saw it was covered in a strange futuristic gauntlet. As he held it up a holographic screen appeared, showing various boxes, all empty except for one. " **That's your inventory. You should see an apple inside it. Click on it and it should appear in your right hand.** "

He did so and was utterly amazed as the object appeared. Utterly enthralled, he took a bite. "It tastes fucking real!"

" **I'd hope so. Ready to try out a few things?** "

"Dude, you say the word and I'll do whatever you want. This is amazing!"

Mark heard Matt's laugh. " **Careful, man, that could be a dangerous offer.** "

* * *

 

Half an hour later found Mark waking up again, back in the real world. He had a slight headache, but beside that, wouldn't have been able to tell the difference. Jack helped him sit up as he regained his bearings. "You okay, dude?" The Irishman asked.

Mark nodded. "Yeah, I'm good. That was fucking _awesome!_ You've got to try that out!"

Matt approached and smiled. "It looked amazing. Jack and I were talking it over with Damien, and he says they've got an RPG simulation which is pretty much finished. He recommends we all tackle that one first to get a taste of the Dreamscape."

"An RPG?! That sounds great! Do we get to choose our classes?"

"Well, that's where this could get interesting," started Jack. "Damien says we can either pick them from here, or we can get the Dreamscape to pick them out for us. It's meant to choose something which matches our personalities."

"Oooo, that sounds _cool._ I'd so be an assassin or something!" exclaimed Mark excitedly.

"Nah, dude, I'm the king of knives," chuckled Jack. "You've seen me as Anti."

"I could picture Mark with a massive hammer, actually," added Matt. "And tripping over it constantly."

"Hey!" Mark shouted indignantly as both Matt and Jack dissolved into laughter.

The three settled as they saw Damien approach. "All good, Mark? Do you feel up to going back in straight away?" Mark nodded excitedly, seeing beaming smiles on both Jack and Matt's faces at the thought of entering the world. "All right then. Matt, Sean, if you could get settled in the other pods I'll fetch you each a set of uplinks."

Soon all three were ready. "Right, gentlemen," began Damien. "You're all agreed on allowing the simulation to pick your own classes, yes?" The trio nodded. "Excellent. Now, this simulation will end when you complete whatever task you've been set, you'll have to search around a bit to find out what it is, however. Once you've done that the exit portal will open up, and you can all come home. If I see anything go wrong from here, however, I'll pull you all out. I'll be present throughout, so if you need anything let me know." He watched the trio as they all got settled. "Are you all ready?"

Jack was trying to stop himself bouncing in place. "I'm so stoked for this! Let's go!"

Mark laughed at him. "I dunno who's more excited, me or you. And I'm the one who's _seen_ the Dreamscape. You have no idea what's coming, dude."

Matt smiled and relaxed into the seat. "We're good. Hit it, Damien."

Damien smiled at them before turning his attention back to the screens in front of him. "Enjoy, gentlemen. Starting the simulation now. Initiating uplinks in 3…2…1."

As he said the words he noticed all three Youtubers begin to slip into their hibernation-state. All trace of joviality left his face and he began furiously typing on the computer in front of him. He isolated Jack from the other two and paused his uplink, starting another program to analyse his brain patterns. He kept glancing at Mark and Matt's progress, making sure they successfully uploaded as he kept analysing Jack's data stream. _It's in here somewhere…_

" **Um, Damien, what happened? I seem to be…nowhere. It's just a sea of white.** "

He smirked at hearing Jack's confused voice, keeping his focus on the data skimming on the screen. "Sorry Sean, looks like you got stuck in the Mental Matrix. Give me a second and I'll restart your pod. That should solve the problem."

" **Er, okay. Do I…do anything?** "

"Just sit tight, I should have this done in a moment." Now free of distraction Damien focused hard, finding what he was looking for. _At last…This should be all I need._ He booted up another program and set it to work. A few seconds later it was finished. "Good news, Sean, you're good to go. This might sting a little from there, just stick with it."

His task finished, he released Jack. " **Ah, fuck! That hurts!** " Seconds later Jack was also uploaded to the Dreamscape. Damien watched as the computer next to him continued to generate line after line of code, opening another folder in a separate screen. He analysed the active brain patterns in the game and smiled.

**_Active: Mark Fischbach. Glaysha Simulation Running. Area: Ancient Castle_ **

**_Active: Matthew Fredrick. Glaysha Simulation Running. Area: Bandits' Forest_ **

**_Active: Sean McLoughlin. Glaysha Simulation Running. Area: Bandits' Forest_ **

His attention turned to his running program and his smile turned malicious at seeing it complete. He set about transferring his new creation over. "I'll have to thank you inside, Jack. Strange what you find inside people's minds. Now I have the perfect partner. I think my job here is done. Soon…I'll have my revenge soon."

Damien stood and rested his hand on the console. A black mist soon exhaled from his mouth and nose before the body collapsed to the ground, lifeless. The entity turned face the immobile form for several seconds before it moved towards Mark, seeping into his slumbering body. Seconds later it was gone, no trace of it ever having been there.

On the computer, a new command flashed on the screen.

**_Antisepticeye rendering complete. Initialising. Simulation upload in 30 seconds._ **


	4. Find Your Way

Jack groaned as he opened his eyes, still half expecting to be faced with blinding light. His head was absolutely pounding: contrary to what Damien had said, his subsequent move from the Mental Matrix has really hurt. Whatever had gone wrong was something he was eager not to repeat. As he did at last manage to focus on the world around him, his breath caught.

_Holy shit…Is this really a simulation? It looks and feels real._

Realising that he was currently seated on the ground with his back against a tree, Jack stood. His eyes slowly took in the forest around him, absorbing his surroundings. The birds, wind, smells… he was having a hard time convincing himself that he really was inside a computer. Something this realistic could actually pose a slight problem once fully released, he thought. It would be all too tempting to just accept this as reality. _Hmm, maybe I'll suggest to Damien to build in an auto-exit or something, just in case someone is stuck in here too long._

He felt a slight itch on his arm and went over to scratch it…and realised he wasn't wearing a t-shirt anymore. "What the- _the fuck_?!" Jack almost fell over in shock at seeing his attire: he was kitted out in a pair of tight white trousers and a dark green, long sleeved tunic. Brown boots were caked in mud which came to his knees and his shoulders felt weighed down. He soon realised this was due to the white, heavy cape he was wearing, though it was curiously designed. Most of the material was bunched around his shoulders, but it did extend down to cover his left arm and that half of his back. A hood was also present, which he realised upon taking it down. "Damn…this is bizarre. What the fuck _am I_?"

"My guess is you're a mage, dude."

Jack spun to his left at hearing the familiar voice and his eyes nearly popped again. "Matt?!"

Matt chuckled and shrugged. "Yeah, it's me. Though…this is not what I expected." Matt was equipped in dark blue leather armour, which included extra reinforcement on his left arm. A matching cloak covered most of his body, though it was shaped to leave his left arm free. Jack could see metal greaves protected his shins and the outside of his left forearm, though strangely enough not the inside.

A glance to his back saw a bow and quiver strapped to Matt's back. "Wait, you're an archer? That I didn't expect."

The older man pulled the bow from his back easily, almost as if he had done it all his life. "Strange, huh? I didn't call that either, but upon reading this inscription, I guess it does fit." Jack looked at him curiously and wandered over, his eyes falling upon the glowing silver writing adorning the black metal bow.

**The Sniper**

_Strong-minded, steadfast and free-flowing. A tactician who surveys all risk from distance. Resolute in their course, unafraid to tread into unknown territory_.

Jack thought on what he'd read, and he had to agree that it did fit Matt. He'd taken some massive risks in the past, but he'd only done it knowing that there had always been a safety net. He'd never leave everything on the table and risk it all going wrong: not with what he stood to potentially lose. Then again, he had been brave enough to venture into setting up his own network on YouTube, which was now highly successful, and carried the responsibility of it well. Jack knew he couldn't have done all that. His small team was enough to worry about on a day-to-day basis. "Nice detail there, at least it explains what you are, not that there was much debate with the massive bow on your back," he pointed out, earning a small laugh from Matt. "Does that mean I don't have a weapon?"

"Nah, dude, I think it's that book laying on the ground over there," Matt said as he directed Jack to a small white book a few feet away. Jack growled at having missed something so obviously out of place, but soon walked over to pick it up. He felt an immense build-up of power the second he made contact with the pages and promptly dropped the book again. Matt's eyes widened at the display. "You okay, Jack?"

The Irishman shook his head violently, but soon regretted it when his headache protested the sharp movement. _Fuck sake…_ "Yeah, I'm good. That was just super weird. As soon as I touched it, I could feel this incredible power flowing through me. It was…unreal."

Matt nodded. "The bow does the same to me, I can't really explain it. You grow used to it quite quickly. Guess that confirms the book is your weapon then. Have a read, see what it says."

Jack stared at the book sceptically, not too sure what to make of the rush of power, before eventually taking a loose hold. He really didn't like this sensation…it made him very uneasy. After a few seconds the feeling lessened, and he was able to focus more on the object he held. He opened the cover to take a look inside, stopping as he saw the glowing silver writing on the black pages.

**The Aura Mage**

_Strong of heart and mind, a light to guide those trapped in the dark. One who is willing to stand for what they believe, no matter the personal cost. A shield to those close to their heart._

From a distance Matt watched as Jack took in the words, waiting patiently as he began flipping through the pages. "I'm hoping the book at least tells you what spells you can use?" he asked as Jack stared harder at one particular page.

When Jack began smiling, Matt was intrigued. His eyes then nearly bulged out of his head as Jack held out his right hand and conjured a small ball of lightning. Next thing Matt knew, a bolt had shot forth from Jack's hand to collide with a boulder. The impact left a scorch mark several feet wide. "Hell yeah!" exclaimed Jack excitedly.

"Holy…" Matt was temporarily rendered speechless. "Did you do that on purpose?"

Jack rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "This is where I say…no. Honestly, I've got no control over it. I get the feeling I'm going to need some _serious_ practice. But…that's not all I can do." Jack lifted his left hand and raised it in front of him. A soft glow began emanating before fanning out to cover the area in front of Jack. Matt looked on curiously. "Touch it, Matt. It's not harmful." Matt gave him a suspicious look before reaching out his own hand. He braced himself, not sure what to expect, and was surprised when he came to an abrupt stop. The light was solid.

Matt suddenly understood. "It's a shield."

Jack nodded. "Yeah. Based off what I'm reading in here, I'm mainly a support character. My shield is my primary spell, the lightning is more an extension of my skills. I'm suspecting that my lack of control in that regard is on purpose: I'm not designed to be a fighter, which I will freely admit I am fine with." The Irishman then showed Matt the description of his character.

"Pretty sure you're right about being a support character, it mentions your shield specifically. Who knows, maybe this means you'll become a healer over time as well?"

Blue eyes lit up in excitement. "Hey, I didn't think of that. That would be handy."

"It would be. It's also helpful that we are both effective at range. I wonder what Mark turned out as."

It was then that Jack noticed there was only two of them. "Wait a minute. Where _is_ Mark?"

Matt grimaced. "I haven't found him. Then again, you showed up later than me, so maybe he did too."

Jack thought back to what happened just before he woke up. "Hmmm, I'm not so sure about that, actually. I think the reason I arrived later was because I didn't upload properly the first time. Damien said I got stuck in the Mental Matrix; he had to reset my pod for me to join."

Matt pondered this. "Guess that means we'll just have to look for him. Don't suppose your book gave you any hints on which direction to go, did it?" Jack shook his head, leading Matt to sigh. "Of course it wouldn't be that easy."

A smile lit Jack's face. "It's no big deal, we'll just head for high ground and see what we can find. Maybe there's a town or something nearby? I'm guessing they didn't drop us completely in the middle of nowhere."

Jack's enthusiasm was catching. "Sure, sounds like a good plan. Now…which way?

* * *

 

An hour later found Jack and Matt standing atop a large hill, looking over their landscape. They'd spent twenty minutes looking for some higher ground, and searching for Mark, before realising that their friend was nowhere to be seen. Hoping that he would follow a similar thought process to their own, the pair had turned their attention to finding their way through their new world. As time went on both Matt and Jack were slowly becoming more engrossed, finding it hard to spot the ways in which the Dreamscape was flawed. Even small things like the smells and feel of what they touched were capturing their attention more and more: they could only wonder how long it would be before they stopped trying to survey the world and critique it, and began to be fully engrossed in their journey.

From their viewpoint it hadn't taken them long to find a large town. It covered a good couple of miles and was not that far from their position, only about another hour's walk. Before they set out again they took the opportunity to check through their inventories, seeing what basics they had been given at the start of the game. A swift scroll through had shown they each had many different foods, water, a blanket complete with bedroll, some kindling and a flint, as well as what looked like several syringes. Matt had pulled one out and examined it, coming to the conclusion that the blue liquid was probably a health potion of some sort. After playing around for a little while Jack discovered a way for them to get descriptions of all the items they carried, confirming that the syringes did indeed heal. They each had three small ones, and two larger ones. Jack also had three syringes filled with an amber liquid: a quick check revealed them to be stamina boosts. He was curious as to why they were present, but ignored it for now. He'd come to the conclusion that he would probably realise why they were there soon enough.

They soon left the hill and were most of the way to the town when Matt heard something not far behind them. On their travels he had discovered his sight and hearing were far sharper than normal – he suspected it was a passive ability from his new class – and they'd found several animals wandering around the wood courtesy of his enhanced senses. Instinctively he realised it wasn't the case this time. The steps were heavy, and there were multiples sets. A group of people. "Jack, we've got a group behind us," he informed the other man.

Jack stopped at Matt's statement. "How far away?"

Matt's eyes kept darting around: as soon as they'd stopped the steps had changed. They were lighter, to the point where he couldn't hear some anymore, and had began to spread out. "Not far, and I get the impression they aren't friendly. We're being flanked either side. Looks like we're about to get our first taste of combat." Jack nodded his head slowly as he started looking around, scanning their surroundings. He could just make out the shadows darting through the trees around them, confirming Matt's theory. Matt drew his bow and readied an arrow, really not sure how this was going to go. He knew he had a good aim from all the challenge videos he did for his channels, but this was totally different. This was a true bow and arrow, he didn't know quite how well his aim would stand up. "I think I've got four this side. Jack?"

"Three with me. They seem to have stopped for now. Here's hoping I can at least direct this lightning in a general direction…I'm going to be no help whatsoever if all I've got is a shield."

Matt hummed in agreement vaguely before he heard a series of mechanical clicks: crossbows being loaded. He stood back-to-back with Jack, his bow raised, but before he could find a target he heard three releases. "Jack, arrows!"

Jack spun and instinctively threw out his left hand, raising his shield in front of Matt. The metal projectiles all stopped in the air as they hit the barrier and Jack winced, feeling the three impacts like mild punches to the gut. This was not what he'd been expecting. He lowered the shield, the arrows dropping with it as Matt finally caught sight of a target. He let loose his own arrow, watching as it sailed through the air to connect exactly where he'd been aiming: the assailant's hand. The man screamed and dropped his weapon as Matt quickly reloaded, taking aim at another. He saw one of the other assailants trying to load again and fired straight at him, striking true again. Another hand punctured, a second crossbow was dropped. The other two men forsook their distance weaponry and drew swords, charging towards Matt. Realising his advantage was about to be lost Matt ran, hoping to find an opportunity to strike.

After lowering his shield Jack had turned back around, hearing the charge of the other three assailants. With little else he could do he threw up his right hand and discharged a ball of lightning. The attack rose to several feet above before being unleashed. It was effective, but costly. All three men were hit and screamed in agony before dropping to the ground defeated, but the attack did not go only one direction. Jack screeched as he was hit by the area-wide assault and raised his shield quickly, but even that had a price. Just as before he felt the wind be stolen from him as the impact registered with his guard. The lightning at last stopped and Jack crumbled to his knees, trying desperately to get his breath back.

Matt had managed to lead the last two foes away and saw a boulder he reckoned he could scale with minimal effort. He jumped off a smaller rock next to it and managed to scramble to the top. Now with height to his advantage, Matt drew again and fired. The men were smarter this time, however, and took shelter behind some trees. They attempted to step out, but had to swiftly dive back into cover as Matt fired. The Youtuber realised he now had a serious problem: all they had to do was wait until he ran out of arrows, of which he only had six left, and then he was a sitting duck. The stalemate lasted for about half a minute when Matt was faced with a new problem. Knives hurtled towards him and Matt was forced to jump to the right off his perch, landing awkwardly on the loose branches below. He slipped and fell on his side, swearing as he saw the pair charge.

Salvation then came from nowhere.

Matt watched in astonishment as the pair then screeched in pain, collapsing in a smouldering heap. It took him a couple of seconds to realise what had happened: Jack. He got back to his feet, wincing slightly at the ankle he'd managed to lightly twist from his fall, and headed back to his companion. Matt gasped as he found Jack doubled over on his knees, his left arm hanging uselessly as his right was clutching his stomach. "Shit, Jack!" Jack's eyes opened to stare at Matt as he knelt next to him. "What happened to you?"

Jack chuckled darkly. "I'm definitely not meant to fight unless absolutely necessarily. My own area attack hit me, I took a fair bit of damage before I managed to get my shield up. Even that is a cursed blessing. Every time I stop something it saps my strength. It felt like someone was punching me in the stomach." He winced as an aftershock rippled through him. "Okay, pain is _definitely_ the same in here as it is outside. Fuck this _hurts_ …"

A look of concern settled over Matt's face as he took the information in. While Jack may have the greater power out of the two of them, it came at great personal cost to him. Then Matt remembered the extra syringes that Jack had found in his inventory. Damn! I should have twigged why a mage would have the extra items. "Jack, can you get to your inventory? You need health and one of your stamina syringes." The younger man nodded and let go of his stomach, cringing at the pain as he swiped through his items. He pulled out both syringes and handed them to Matt. The older man stared at them, taking note of the unique design, and realised they were probably designed for use in combat. "Jack, trust me?"

Matt received a suspicious look in return. "Yeah…why?" A second later, he screamed in agony as Matt drove the health syringe into his left arm. " ** _Fuck_**! _Warn me next time you fucker! Shit_ …" Three seconds later Jack could feel the pain in his body lessening, the serum working quickly. Another few seconds later and he looked down in astonishment. All the pain was gone, it was as though it had never been there, though the exhaustion remained. Jack watched as Matt withdrew the first syringe and then used the amber one much more delicately, trying his best not to cause any additional pain. This one was relatively painless, and within seconds he felt revitalised. "Whoa…damn those things are handy. I feel good as new!"

The older man helped Jack to stand again. "I guess your magical abilities come at a pretty large cost to your physical stamina, hence the extra gear you have. Looks like you'll need to train somehow."

Jack hummed in thought. "Well, if this is an RPG, I guess we'll have some sort of level up feature? I dunno. Hopefully that gets easier over time, I really don't fancy having to deal with those aftereffects every time we get into a fight."

Matt chuckled. "Well it does help if you don't shock yourself, too."

Jack glared at him. "It's not as if I did it on purpose."

"I guess we'll find out soon enough. Gimme a sec to gather up all my arrows and we'll head off. Do you think we're far away?"

"Nah, I reckon we're pretty close to the town. Shouldn't be too long now." Matt nodded before turning around, scouring their battle zone for any arrows he could salvage. Jack began to follow when he felt a shiver go up his spine. Not questioning his instincts, he turned around, scanning the area closely. His whole body was like ice all of a sudden, and he couldn't shake the dread seeping its way through his body. It was almost as if something was…watching him. Then he heard it: a muffled cackle. It was steadily getting louder, and it gave him chills. _What the-_

"Jack?" Matt's question caught Jack's attention and he spun back to his friend. "I'm done, you good?"

Jack took another look back, but already the feeling had passed. There wasn't anything to see, and the laughing had stopped too. The Irishman gave the scenery a cynical expression. _Stupid imagination._ He then returned his gaze to Matt, flashing him a confident smile. "All good, dude. Let's go!"

The two continued forth, unaware of the green eyes following them from a distance. A figure in black teleported between the trees, watching as they neared the town. As they got to the edge of the settlement it stopped, sitting down on a branch. It whistled happily, flipping its knife around in its right hand, waiting.

_Oh don't you worry, Jackaboy, I'll get to dance with you soon. I'll enjoy making you **break**_.

* * *

 

Miles away, in an abandoned castle perched atop a series of cliff, a lone figure began to wake. He groaned deeply as he registered a dull pain to the back of his head. As the pain became less of an issue he pushed himself from his stomach, slowly getting to his feet. It took several seconds for him to regain his bearings, but then he looked around. Crumbling walls and ruined tapestries surrounded him, and a sharp wind whistled through the area. The only light surrounding him came from several torches mounted upon the walls and the odd stone basin which was lit. The whole ambience of the place made him…uneasy. "Well, this is joyous."

A low growl from his right made Mark freeze. He slowly turned to see a very large black wolf snarling at him, teeth bared and jaws slavering. His breath hitched slightly as he realised the thing was bigger than he was, and it looked hungry. As he backed up, he slammed into a wall.

_Shit, this is **so** not my day._


	5. A Sinister Truth

Mark tried his best not to look at the dripping jaws of the creature before him, but it was proving difficult. Despite knowing this was only a simulation, the fear he felt coursing through his veins was very real indeed. Knowing he had to do something, and fast, he finally managed to tear his gaze away from the wolf and look around. He spied a sword lying on the ground above six feet away from him, and a shield a couple of feet further back. The blade was moulded to a slight crescent shape, and even from that distance Mark could tell it was wickedly sharp, reminding him almost of a katana. Even the shield was formed uniquely: while the basic shape was circular, the top and bottom diverged into the silhouette of a flame, the ends of which were all sharpened. The face of the shield had spikes affixed, making it as much a weapon as a block.

A low snarl caught Mark's attention again and he screamed in desperation as he threw himself to the right, just as the wolf made a dive at him. The monster skidded into the crumbling wall, causing a few bricks to fall and damage it, as Mark scrambled away. He slipped the shield on with no effort and held it before him as he readied the sword. Both pieces of equipment were tremendously light and Mark could feel a surge of both power and confidence as he stared down the wolf. "Come at me, bitch! I've got a present for you!" he shouted defiantly.

The beast roared straight in Mark's face, causing him to wince as it dove through the air. Mark skidded underneath it and raised his shield above his head, bracing himself as the wolf's stomach was pierced by the sharp face when it sailed over him. Not hesitating, Mark swung back around and slashed with his sword, eyes widening as he saw it slice clean through the black fur of the monster's side. He stepped back, trying to give himself some breathing room but the wolf's eyes shifted from a gold to a blood red, glowing dimly in the dark. Mark knew straight away he was in trouble and dove behind one of the stone urns. He stared in disbelief as he saw a fire trail scorch the ground he had standing upon only two seconds earlier. "A fire breathing wolf? _Seriously?_ How do I always end up in the shit?"

Looking around him, Mark couldn't see anything which would help his situation. There was nothing on the ground he could even use for a distraction. He glanced backwards, and then swiftly retreated as flames licked his stone guard. "What the _fuck_ am I meant to do here?!" Then Mark remembered his inventory. He raised his left arm, just managing to not skewer his own head with his shield, and began skimming through his items. A smile appeared on his face as he found something. _Perfect._

The wolf's attack stopped as a smell hit its nostrils, its hunger becoming more apparent. The hue of its eyes shifted back to gold as it saw Mark emerge, the human holding out a lump of meat in his hands. "Hey, you want this, don't you?" he spoke nervously. The wolf was ready to pounce within seconds and Mark threw it far behind him, watching as the beast charged after it. He winced as he heard the creature howl in pain, but didn't think much beyond it. At least he didn't have to worry about the monster any more. It soon disappeared into the dark and he relaxed. "Phew, that's a relief," he sighed, allowing himself to take a few deep breaths now that the danger had passed. He closed his eyes to try and regain his composure, but as he opened them again he realised there was something very different. "Hang on…what happened to my clothes?"

Mark's eyes scanned over the black and red armour he was now outfitted in. The breastplate was a deep crimson, while the gauntlets and greaves were nearly black. On his left shoulder sat a pauldron, which was also crimson, while black, leather armour covered his thighs. His whole left arm was covered in the black armour, but only the gauntlet was there on his right, allowing for much freer movement on that side. "Huh…didn't see this coming." He took a closer look at his sword and shield but paused as he saw glowing sliver writing appear on the black-tinted metal of the blade.

**The Knight**

_Steadfast, strong of body and heart. A natural born leader who inspires courage in others. Charges in to face danger without fear to their own safety._

"Huh…so it's telling me I'm reckless and encourage others to be the same…" he summarised sarcastically. "Well, I guess having a sword and shield is pretty cool. This armour is going to be a killer though, I can feel the weight of it already." Mark took another look around the room and spied a mirror on the opposite wall. Curious to see his new appearance, he wandered over to it, placing his weapons down on a nearby table.

As Mark came to a stop before the mirror he cast a critical eye over his reflection. "Wow, I actually do suit this. Guess it was a good idea to let the Dreamscape pick for me, I never would have chosen this. I'll have to get used to some close scrapes though." While Mark was talking, he began taking a closer look at his reflection, seeing something strange. "Huh, what the…" His fringe was longer, and his eyes seemed to be a fearsome red in colour. Mark was bemused as to this change and stepped right in front of the mirror, intending on analysing it up close.

Just as he did that, however, his reflection took on a sinister smirk and punched straight towards him.

Mark recoiled as the glass shattered, some pieces flying towards his face. " _Fuck!_ " He stumbled away, feeling a trickling down his cheek as he came to a stop. When he raised his hand to see what it was, he was shocked to see blood appear on it. "Shit, did that cut me? That was so strange…"

Now suitably disturbed, Mark turned back to his surroundings: and more pointedly, to the fact that he was alone. "Matt? Sean?" Mark shouted for his friends but received no reply. He couldn't hear anything at all…save for the occasional crackling of a lit torch. The silence was doing nothing for his unease. "Hello? Guys?" After a couple of minutes of searching around his immediate vicinity Mark came to the conclusion that he was on his own, for now.

"All right, where are they? And where the hell am _I?_ " Mark looked out through a broken wall and watched the storm raging outside. The clouds were dark and unending above, wind was whipping through the area and the seas were vicious. Lightning decided just then to strike the cliff below the castle, causing Mark to jump back, clutching his chest in shock. "Fucking hell…this is nuts. I've got to get out of here." He retrieved the shield and sword he had placed down on the table and spied a catch on the inside of his shield. Following a hunch, Mark found that it could be stored on a corresponding latch on his back, as well as being able to stow his sword. After a few tries at retrieving and stowing his gear, he felt ready to set off. As Mark walked away he opened his inventory and began to examine its contents. He knew the road ahead might well be long.

From the shadows of the torches, another figure followed him. It never went close, but it watched. Watched, analysed…and waited.

_Patience…I have waited this long. I want to savour the occasion._

* * *

 

Jack and Matt both stared in wonder as they made it to the town, staring at the world around them. They had to keep reminding themselves that they were in a simulation, everything felt so real. Although…for the first time they noticed things that were _definitely_ out of place. All the NPC's wandering the streets were very…colourful. Ranging from their clothes, to their mannerisms and even their hair and skin colours, it was now very apparent that they were in a fantasy world. It actually helped them feel slightly less out of place.

It didn't take Matt long to notice something, however. "Dude, are we the only people here that are armed?"

Jack took another look at the surrounding characters and soon realised Matt had a point. "Yeah, you're right. Although I'm guessing that all the guards I can see at the walls are plenty armed. Especially if the guys we fought are any indication of what the town has to deal with."

"Hmmm, hopefully we won't arouse too much suspicion. Let's try and lay low as we search for information."

The two of them spent the next hour examining the town and eavesdropping in to some of the surrounding conversation, seeing if they could learn anything useful. It didn't take long to realise that below the happy façade of the town, behind all the cheerful smiles and the animated conversation, there was something plaguing it. Many of the discussions the pair overheard dealt with families who had recently lost loved ones, and the fear of the town being attacked. They wondered just how lucky they might have been in escaping that earlier fight, given so many others had lost their lives.

Between that, they examined the world around them in more detail. It took some time to not stare at the various people wandering around with pink, green and blue skin; and even more to realise that they were getting just as many stares back. It seemed that if your were fair skinned, you hair colour was unusual – or vice versa – which meant that with their skin tone and brown hair combinations they were attracting attention, though completely unintentional. Word had soon spread to the town's guards of the new additions to the town. Jack and Matt were observed for almost half an hour before an older man approached them.

Jack was the first to realise their new company. He appeared to be elderly: his skin was wrinkled and his green hair was faded to an almost white colour. His green and white robes gave him a regal appearance, and Jack greeted the man brightly, sensing he may be someone of importance. "Hello there!"

The man smiled and inclined his head towards the Irishman. "Greetings, gentlemen. I hope I am not bothering either of you, am I?"

Matt spun around at hearing Jack's greeting and smiled as he joined the conversation. "Not at all. In all honesty, we are a little lost. Perhaps you can help us?"

A raised eyebrow was directed at them. "Lost? You are unaware of where you are?"

Jack nodded. "Yeah, we kinda woke up in the forest a couple of hours ago, and we have no idea where we are. Maybe you can tell us a little about the area?"

It seemed that Jack's open demeanour was what convinced the man that the strangers were no threat. After a couple of seconds his whole posture changed, and he relaxed as his smile grew. "You really are clueless as to where you are?"

"Yes, we are just looking for a little information. We're hoping for any clues as to where we are, and what is happening around here."

The pair were bemused when the older man directed them to follow him, but decided it was worth the risk. He took them to an ornate building in the centre of the town, and opened the door for the Youtubers to enter. They looked around as they went inside, realising that they were inside something similar to a library. Books lined several walls, but amongst the shelves were several artefacts of varying shape and size. It was mostly deserted, save for a couple of people reading in the far corners of the room. "Come with me, gentlemen." They followed as the man opened another door, leading to a heavily cluttered room. It seemed to be used for storage, if the number of items was anything to go by, and they watched as he locked the door behind him.

Just as they were wondering if they had made a serious mistake in trusting the man, he gave them a gentle smile. "Be at ease, my friends. My name is Eamon, I am the overseer of Glaysha, the town you see before you. You are Wanderers, no?"

Matt looked at him strangely. "Wanderers?"

"Ah, of course, you do not know our terminology. 'Wanderer' is the title we give to travellers who come to us from distant lands. Many have come, some multiple times, searching for something. Be it riches, knowledge, weapons, people…it seems many travellers have something to find here. It always begins the same: you awaken with no knowledge of why you have come, nor what you seek. Am I right?"

Jack and Matt shared a look, astonished that the simulation actually had it written into the basic lore of the area about players entering. Jack was the one who replied. "That is scarily accurate. Is there anything you can tell us that may help?"

Eamon looked sorrowful. "I would be more than willing to help you both, my friends, by Glaysha is suffering greatly. The Dark has been plaguing our town for months now, and it grows deadlier by the day. I fear that in helping you on your quest, I may be condemning you to a far worse fate."

Matt held up his hand. "Hang on a minute. The 'Dark'? As in, a person or just the dark in general?"

"We know not what _he_ is, we only know his power. He has been in the Ancient Castle for many years, but in the past few months he has began a campaign against our little town. Every week, he launches an attack to assert his dominance, or he demands we send an offering to him. Sometimes it is riches, sometimes it is livestock. In more recent weeks it has been people. The populace lives in fear of anyone from outside our walls now, hence why all the secrecy. Their fear has made them wary of all, even Wanderers."

The news troubled both Jack and Matt. It sounded like this adventure had just taken a turn. "So, you can't do anything to fight back against him?" asked Jack. "You live in permanent fear of him?"

Eamon shook his head. "Many have left for his fortress at the far shores of our land, but none have returned. We have come to the realisation that we have no chance of defeating him, not as we are. Our Lorekeeper, Ayala, is researching a way of ridding us of Dark once and for all, but she has made little progress."

Matt began to make a connection in his mind. "Ayala you said her name was? Is she willing to help Wanderers?" A nod was his answer. "Would you be willing to introduce us to her?"

Eamon regarded them both seriously. "Gentlemen, I cannot stress enough the danger that exists from Dark. He kills without hesitation, and he can destroy almost anything at will. Should you continue on your way, there is every chance you may incur his wrath."

"That may be true, Eamon, but there is a very good chance that Dark already knows we are here. If he is as powerful as you say, then he may just be waiting for a moment to strike. We could not stay here, knowing that very thing," replied Matt.

Jack then joined in. "We couldn't very well just sit here knowing that thing is out there, anyway. It doesn't look like your people are experienced in combat, but we are. We may well have a better shot at avoiding that thing than anyone else does, and we couldn't forgive ourselves if some innocent got caught in the crossfire. Please, Eamon. Let us speak to Ayala. Maybe we can do something to change things."

Eamon stared at them both in disbelief. "Wait… are you two truly offering to help us defeat Dark? It is impossible!"

Matt laughed lightly. "Trust us, Eamon, when we say that we've seen a fair bit recently that defies the concept of impossible." Jack chuckled at Matt's statement, completely agreeing. Something as mind-blowing as the Dreamscape was trying to convince its players that a task was impossible: that messed with the brain a little.

The overseer finally shook his head. "You are both truly incredible men. Whatever land you come from, it is truly lucky to have you both. Give me a few minutes, I shall speak to Ayala. I shall return shortly."

Jack and Matt watched as Eamon deftly made his way through the many stacks of items in the room, walking towards a bookcase. He then pushed it in, revealing that the furniture was in actual fact a very well disguised door. They saw him vanish within, leaving the passage open, and then turned their attention to each other. Jack was the first to speak. "You thinking what I'm thinking?"

The archer nodded. "That this Dark thing is a sort of endgame boss to the simulation? Yeah, I'm guessing so. It makes sense. Sounds like a right piece of work mind you."

"Maybe, but now I'm beginning to suspect that Mark isn't here on purpose. Maybe the only way to finding a way to defeat him is in another area of the map, one that we can't access?"

Matt's eyes lit in realisation. "And Mark has spawned there. So, we may not even see him until the end of this thing then. Maybe we should try and get in contact with Damien? See what he says?"

Jack smacked himself in the head. "I can't believe we didn't think of that before! Damien is watching from the outside!" The mage then turned his attention to the roof, hoping that Damien was listening. "Damien! Can you hear us?" They sat for a few seconds of silence before Jack tried again. "Yo! Damien! We could use a little confirmation from the outside that everything's okay?"

Yet again, there was no answer.

"Well…that's a little disconcerting," stated Matt.

"You're not kidding. Where the hell is he?"

"Hmmm, not sure. I doubt he'd just leave us on our own in a simulation, would he?"

"I fucking hope not. Maybe he's just gone to the loo or something?"

"Let's hope that is what it is, and not something more ominous. I've already got bad enough feelings right now, I don't need to be adding to those."

The two stopped their conversation as they heard footsteps coming from the passageway, and they soon saw Eamon reappear with a bright smile. "Ayala is happy to meet the both of you. Please, follow me." Jack and Matt nodded their gratitude before following the older man, realising that the secret passage did not in fact go far. It was only a few metres later that they arrived in another room.

The walls were all covered in astrological tapestries and arcane writing, while within the centre of the room lay two large table. One was covered in various open books and handwritten notes, while the other had lots of small chests scattered across it. The only light in the room was provided by a skylight high above them, giving the room a much bigger feel. Standing next to the second table, staring into one of the small chests, was a woman. As she closed the lid she turned to face them, keeping her face passive. Matt and Jack both stopped and stared at her: she was striking. Long lilac hair was held in place by an ornate circlet, while her green eyes were staring at them piercingly. Her dress was silver in colour with long fitting sleeves, while the bodice was laced together with pale blue ribbons. It flowed all the way to the floor, making her already tall frame stretch even further. She towered over all the men there, making her an intimidating figure. What struck both of them was how young she was – they doubted she was any older than them.

Eamon gave a small bow to the woman. "Ayala, these are the Wanderers I was telling you about. They are looking for any information which may help them, as well as having expressed a willingness to help us combat Dark."

Ayala's eyes sharpened even more. "We shall soon see about that." Jack shivered at the tone of her voice. She really did not seem eager to see them. "Leave us, Eamon. I wish to speak with them alone."

The overseer gave another bow, more exaggerated this time, and left a comforting hand on each of Jack and Matt's shoulders. "While she may come across as harsh, she will help you. May your travels be safe, my friends."

His words were of little comfort to the pair, but he soon departed. They followed his leaving figure until there was no choice but to face the woman within. Now alone, Ayala's gaze changed, and her tone became concerned. "What are you both _doing_ here?" she asked earnestly.

"Umm…well, that's…" Jack floundered in coming up with an explanation. They really hadn't thought this part through. How did they ask for help in a game?

Matt stepped in. "Well, we just kinda woke up in the middle of nowhere. We were hoping-"

Ayala held up her hand. "No, that is not what I mean. What are _players_ doing in the Dreamscape?"

The room went silent. Both Matt and Jack were struggling to comprehend what Ayala had just said. "Wait a goddamn minute," began Jack after a few seconds, "you _know_ about the Dreamscape?"

"And you know that we're players?" continued Matt.

Ayala sighed. "Yes, I know about the Dreamscape, and I know who you two are. You're Matthias and JackSepticEye, the famous Youtubers, aren't you?"

That stunned Matt and Jack yet again. It took much longer for either of them to find their voices again. "How does a program know who we are?" asked Jack in disbelief.

She chuckled. "Things are nothing that they appear in this place." Jack and Matt both jumped backwards as Ayala's body began to change form, almost appearing as if water. They stared in wonder as her whole shape transformed: her hair went from lilac and straight to brown and curly, her tall frame shrank to one that was smaller than Jack's, and her dress changed into that of purple armour. A moulded breastplate showed off her curves while a white leather coat clung to her upper body, flaring out at the bottom as it came to her calves. Her legs were coated in white leggings, though purple plates were strapped to her shins, knees and thighs. As she opened her eyes again they saw they were now a different shade, a much richer and more vibrant colour. She stared at the pair softly, but sadly. "I'm not just another program in this world."

The pair stared at her for a few seconds, Matt thinking that she seemed very familiar. All of a sudden it hit him why. "Oh my god, you're from the outside, aren't you? You're the member of Damien's team that they lost!"

She nodded, before smiling at them gently. "My name is Alix, Alix Cathroe. I was the lead developer on the Dreamscape Initiative. Emphasis on the _was._ "

Jack shook his head, as if trying to stop his eyes from playing tricks on him. "Wait a minute, you're alive? You've been living inside the Dreamscape all this time?"

Alix laughed bitterly. "I wouldn't exactly call this living. Yes my mind still exists in this place, but I know damn well that my body is going to be long gone. This is home for me, now. The closest I can get to it, anyway."

Matt stared at her in concern. "Wait a minute, how did none of the rest of the Digitalia team find you then? You must have known that they were in here so often. And how could they not have seen that your mind was still active in here?"

It was a few seconds before Alix answered. "Let me guess…Damien was the one who told you this?" Their silence in response was all the reply she needed. "No-one has been inside the Dreamscape since I was trapped here. Or at least, not back to this part anyway. They may have been to other simulations, but I sincerely doubt it."

A chill had settled in both Jack and Matt's stomachs at her tale. "What gives you that impression?" Jack asked, though he wasn't entirely sure he was ready for the answer.

"Because the program was sabotaged. It was fine when I went in, I wrote the damn thing! When the exit portal was not working I went into the game codes and looked at what was wrong. Most of the code for the portal was missing, deleted."

"Wait…are you saying that…"

"I was stranded here on purpose. And you two are in grave danger."


	6. Madness Is Never Far

The pair stared at Alix in disbelief. Jack had no idea where to even begin after that statement; it was Matt who first managed to form his thoughts into a coherent sentence. "What do you mean, you were left here on purpose?" he asked slowly.

Alix sighed sadly and leaned against a table, giving both Matt and Jack a distant stare. "We were all thrilled with the progress of the Dreamscape, it had been coming together better than any of our greatest hopes. All our simulations had been running flawlessly for weeks when we made the call to send someone inside. As lead developer, I volunteered. I was excited to see the world we had made! Glaysha was the most complete of all our projects, so we decided upon that."

Jack looked at her in confusion. "Glaysha? Is that what this place is called?"

She nodded back at him. "Everything went great. The simulation ran perfectly, I had no programming issues whatsoever. The NPC's were all working as intended, the landscape rendered with no issues and the tasks generated as programmed. When it came time for me to use the exit portal however it just…broke. I couldn't touch or interact with it in any way. I tried for about a day at various locations before I started looking through the game code to see what was wrong." Her face morphed, expressing a mix of sadness and anger. "I developed the exit system myself, I knew every line of code that went in to making sure any player could escape. So…imagine my shock when I went in to find out what was wrong, only to find that _all_ of the code was gone. Not even a trace of it remained. To delete all of that, without destabilising the rest of the simulation…it had to be planned."

Matt's face relayed his concern. "Are you sure it was that way before you entered the Dreamscape? I really don't like the idea of someone trying to…"

Alix chuckled darkly. "Trying to kill me, you mean? Yeah, it disturbed me as well, it took weeks to get my head around that idea myself. I personally checked everything before I jumped in, I _know_ that code was intact. For it to have changed after so little time…can either of you come to any other conclusion?" Matt and Jack both shared a look, hoping the other might have some idea, but the silence spoke volumes. Alix understood all too well, she'd been there and come to terms with the knowledge. "This does beg an interesting question, however. Why did Damien invite the two of you here? Or-" She suddenly stopped herself, something just occurring to her. "Please tell me there isn't anyone else in here with you two."

"I wish that were true. There's one other person in with us, but we haven't been able to find Mark anywhere."

A groan escaped Alix as she closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead. "Please don't tell me you mean Markiplier?" The pair nodded. "Fuck, with his luck he's going to be right in the heart of trouble."

Jack raised an eyebrow. "Speaking of which, Alix, how do you know who we are? Are you a fan?"

Alix blushed lightly. "Yeah, I am a fan, of all three of you in fact. I started out watching Mark, then came across you, Matt. It was about a year later that I began to follow you, Jack. It was watching all of you that inspired me to follow through on my idea for the Dreamscape: I never would have dared attempt this had you not given me the courage to. I'd been working with Damien for a while before I told him the full scale of what I wanted to accomplish. He was the one who saw the same vision I did, see the wondrous world we could build in this place. There are no limitations to what you can create. Normal laws don't apply here. Things like physics, time…it is all relative. What we wanted to be the limit, we made that the boundary. Once we started the process…it was hard not to get lost in it."

Both Jack and Matt nodded. "I can see why you feel so passionately about this, the Dreamscape is a marvel. But at what cost has that come to you, and potentially to us?" Matt asked.

Alix's gaze sharpened. "What happened to me will not befall you. I re-wrote the exit program months ago, just in case…" They could see the broken hope in her eyes, the belief that had once existed there. _Just in case she could go home,_ thought Jack sadly. He could only imagine how lonely she had been in here. As quick as the expression was there it was gone, hidden behind a carefully crafted mask of professionalism, determination and neutrality. "The Glaysha simulation is built upon one sole principle: complete your assigned task and escape through the exit portal. That is all there is to it. Everyone's task is different, and can be found in this place."

They watched as she marched over to a bookshelf, retrieving a scroll and a small chest. "Wait, so defeating Dark isn't necessarily what we are meant to do?" Jack questioned.

Midway through clearing a space on her large table, Alix paused in thought. "Dark isn't meant to be here. He was never part of the original programming."

Both Jack and Matt stared at her in disbelief. " _What?!"_ Jack exclaimed.

"I think Dark was an addition made by whoever trapped me here. He appeared in Glaysha a couple of weeks after I was first stranded, and then began to change the world. The Dreamscape…is all but sentient. The NPC's and world have basic functions, but the basic programming is designed to have an element of randomness to it. I can have the same conversations with the characters around me a thousand times, it would not only give me 999 different answers, but it would also remember them all. Dark…has changed this place."

Alix opened the chest and began placing eight stones of varying colours along the table. Four were black, while the other four were red, white, green and blue. "When he arrived the NPC's began to react in fear. Something new, not in their programming variables, was present. Not a player or another program; he's almost like a virus, feeding off the world around him. He has powers we never created and can change the landscape. The Ancient Castle, his base, used to be nothing more than an information point for the players. He's taken it, and has used it to launch assault after assault against Glaysha. His presence has altered the lore of the game: the NPC's had their memories replaced to make them believe he has been here all along. And it terrifies me. What purpose does that… _thing_ have here? _Why_ is it here?

"I can't help but come to one conclusion: Dark is something created to destabilise the simulation and cause maximum difficulty in escaping. Why someone would go to all this trouble though…I do not know."

Matt's mind had gone into overdrive at the assault of information, and he had come to a rather troubling realisation. "Alix…I have a theory." She turned to face him just as she had finished rolling out the scroll on the table. "What if…Damien…what if it was he who did this to you?"

She looked at him wide-eyed, before regaining her passive look. "What makes you say that?"

"Well, Glaysha was Damien's choice of simulation and we noticed no-one else in Digitalia when we visited. Also, we can't reach him. We've been on our own since we woke up in here."

"Hang on," jumped in Jack, "don't tell me that we are some sort of crazy part to a master plan Damien has. That's just nuts, Matt!"

Matt stared at him steadily. "Can you say I'm wrong? All of this feels like it isn't adding up."

"I agree with you, Matt," added Alix, "but it doesn't explain _why_ all of you are here. Or why he would do this in the first place."

Silence overtook the room for some time before Jack spoke up again. "Then…maybe the only way _to_ find out is to get out of here? If we escape Glaysha and get back to the real world, we can confront Damien." Matt and Alix both looked at him, confused. "Well, all we're going to do in here is come up with theories. We won't get any answers, and the longer we hang around here, the more likely we are to become Dark's next victims. So, I say we find Mark, complete the task, and hightail it out of here!"

Matt and Alix stared at him in stunned silence before Alix began laughing. "Trust you to make it sound so easy, Jack. You really are just the same as in your videos."

The trio shared a look and then nodded at each other, deciding to follow Jack's plan. "All right, now, let's find out what it is you three have to do," Alix continued, guiding the pair over to the table she had prepared. "In this world, the Lorekeeper is the master of all knowledge, and is the guide to the players. It took some time, but I managed to rewrite the code so that the town accepted _me_ as the Lorekeeper, rather than the original NPC, though I did borrow her image. With all of these tomes and runes, we should be able to find out your task."

Jack turned his attention away from the table to her for a second. "That's a good point, how were you able to change your appearance like that? Is that your reprogramming?"

Alix laughed lightly and leant over, reaching under the table. She then reappeared with a single sided halberd, which was crafted from the same black metal as Matt's bow. In the middle of the shaft was a series of metal cuffs, and the opposite end was sharpened to a deadly point. The pair watched as the same silver writing which had described their classes appeared on the metal.

**Combateer: Halberdier/Illusionist**

_Adept, quick-thinking and stealthy. Master of deception and close combat. Unafraid to charge into danger to protect their allies._

Matt was the first to turn his attention away from the weapon. "What does 'Combateer' mean?"

She smiled as she answered. "Combateer is the secret secondary class system. There is no set threshold to unlocking it, the conditions vary from player to player. What it essentially means is that you learn a second set of skills, based off your original class. If you are a melee specialist you gain ranged capabilities, and vice versa. Or you can deviate from an offensive style to a defensive one, as mine became.

"My basic class is a Halberdier, as chosen by the Dreamscape, but after I discovered I was trapped, I used my programming skills to unlock my Combateer status. I also managed to pick what I became. An Illusionist can change their appearance at will and create clones of themselves, but they are good for distraction only. As soon as the clones come into contact with anything physical, they vanish. It also means I can blend into the surroundings, though if I move it breaks the illusion. Hiding from Dark became a lot easier with those skills."

"So, can you help us unlock that as well?" Jack asked as Alix took her weapon back, replacing it back beneath the table.

She shook her head sadly. "Sorry, but I can't. My power as an Administrator is limited, and I can only affect myself as a general rule. There are a few things I can do, but I don't want to tip Damien off to the fact that I _am_ alive, if we are right in that theory. As soon as I access the game codes again, my status will come up as active. We're probably better saving that."

Alix then lit four candles at each corner of the table. "The coloured stones represent the classical elements: fire, water, air and earth, while the black stones are the four compass directions. If one of you touches the scroll while all the runes are active, it will reveal your task. I'm just hoping it isn't something like defeating Dark…" She turned her attention to the other two. "Who wants to do the honours?"

Jack and Matt both looked at each other before Jack gave a sigh. "Guess I'll do it. I've just got to touch the scroll, yeah?"

"Yep, it's as simple as that. Just…don't freak out at the show." The two men gave her a questionable look. "Just a friendly heads' up is all."

With a great deal of hesitancy Jack touched the parchment, startled when it then began to glow. They all then watched as the four elemental stones began to glow, Jack and Matt's eyes bulging at seeing what followed. Each element seemed to branch out from its respective stone – water, fire, earth and air collided in the centre of the scroll, at which energy began building in the directional stones. Electricity began to crackle between them, building until it finally discharged over the culmination of the elemental energy. Both men shielded their eyes from the resulting flash, slowly opening them again when calm seemed to return. They saw Alix standing over the paper, and she had a small smile on her face, though it had a slightly forced nature to it. Their attention shifted to it, and the words which had appeared on the page.

**_Return the Overseer's Staff_ **

"Wait, Overseer? As in Eamon?" Matt questioned. Alix's gaze showed she was surprised they had picked up on that detail, but she then nodded. "That doesn't seem too hard…but where is it? Lost somewhere?"

She winced. "That's the problematic bit…it was given as an offering to Dark several weeks ago. God knows where it is now."

Jack groaned loudly. "Fan- _fucking-_ tastic. How are we meant to solve that?!"

Alix hummed in thought. "Well at least we know what it is you are meant to do now, we can worry about solving this later. Right now, I'm a lot more worried about where Mark is. I'll work on tracing him, but I can't do it here, I don't want to draw any unwanted attention to the two of you. Here." She opened another chest and threw a sack of coins at Matt. "Take this and head into town. Buy yourselves some serums and max out your inventories, you'll need them. There are three types you'll need: the health serum is blue, amber is stamina, and the one you won't have seen yet is red. That is for mending broken bones and…healing critical injuries."

Matt stared at her. "You mean the sort of injuries that would kill, right?" She nodded. "How many of each can we buy?"

"You can take ten of each, but buy upgraded packs in Glaysha. You'll find it with the same merchant. That'll allow you to carry fifteen of each serum, as well as boost how many other items you can carry too. I'd also see about some camping equipment, tents etc. If we end up travelling you'll need them. The merchant is in the town square, his shop has a sign with a moneybag over it. Tell him Ayala sent you, and you won't have any problems. There should be more than enough money there for anything you want to buy.

"Once you've done that I'd probably go look for Eamon, see if he can point you in the direction of the bounties' board. If you take on a few of the small fry on there you can practice your skills a little while I look for Mark. I imagine combat is relatively easy for you, Matt, but you'll need a lot more training, Jack?"

Jack glared mildly at her while Matt chuckled. "Let me guess, game design?" the Irishman asked sarcastically.

Alix raised an eyebrow at him. "Jack, you can throw lightning and create shields out of light. You'd be overpowered as all hell if you had full control without hurting yourself in the process. We had to nerf the mage classes to level the playing field when you first enter the game. Don't worry, as you use your magic more you will feel less of a drain and steadily gain control of your lightning…but there will always be a chance of it backfiring on you. That is the nature of magic in this world."

"Fucking joyous."

She smiled at that. "Sorry, I really wish we'd changed that now, but it can't be helped. I'll train all three of you once I've found Mark, but for now this will just have to do. The bounties should be a good starting point. Just make sure you don't go beyond one star hunts right now. And be careful out there…Glaysha is a dangerous place." Alix's smile dropped slightly, before turning shy. "I really wish it hadn't been like this, but it is _awesome_ to meet the two of you. Sorry, I just had to get that fan-girl moment out."

Jack and Matt laughed earnestly, Alix's admission having cut through the tension. They both gave her a hug, making a bright smile appear on her face. Both men knew she had been a great help, but couldn't help but feel sad at knowing the fate she had befallen. _If only there is something we can do…_

* * *

 

The two of them had stocked up fully in town, as well as researching what the bounties board involved. It turned out the system behind that was relatively simple, and they had soon taken a contract for a pack of wolves causing chaos just outside of the town. Barely ten minutes had gone by when they found said wolves, which were easy prey for Matt's bow. He'd taken out six of the eight without breaking a sweat, the other two falling to Jack's lightning. The Irishman had concentrated mainly on controlling his shield without suffering too much. It had taken three big knocks before he first felt the strain, and he was a bit more confident by the time they were done. As proof of completing the job they had taken a tooth from each of the beasts before setting back towards the town.

Matt and Jack had been in pleasant conversation when Matt heard tree branch snap behind them. He gave Jack a nudge to brace him for a confrontation, but hadn't even drawn his bow when Jack felt a massive energy surge. Throwing up a shield behind them, Jack felt like a sledgehammer had slammed straight into his chest as lightning collided with their light barrier. Matt watched in horror as the force threw Jack backwards, straight into a tree. "Jack!" He was shocked when despite being barely able to see straight, Jack still cast out another barrier in front of Matt, saving the other man from another bout of lightning. The young man's breath contracted painfully in his chest as he held fast, giving Matt time to scramble away and into cover.

The archer dove behind a tree, using it as natural protection while trying to find their assailant. He had to duck further behind it as several knives implanted deep within the bark, barely a few inches from his face. Matt saw Jack hurtle lightning of his own to protect him, but the blue energy clashed with the opposite green version in mid-air. Through the aftermath Matt saw a shadowy figure in the trees above them and fired an arrow, watching in horror as the figure shifted away in what looked like a…glitch? _What the-_

A scream cut through the air and Matt saw as Jack crashed to the ground, several feet from where he had just been situated. He was halfway out from the tree to help Jack when he realised his mistake. Jack saw through blurry vision as Matt screeched when a burst of lightning hit him, watched helplessly as he crumpled against the trunk in a shuddering mess. " _Matt!_ " Jack shouted, unaware of the kick which was then aimed at his chest. He crashed on to his back, coughing painfully as he stole a look at Matt. The other man was skimming through his inventory subtly, looking for healing items, when Jack cried in agony. Unimaginable pain raced through Jack's biceps and he turned to look at his left arm, finding a knife had embedded itself there. He had no doubt the other was in the same way. Both arms had been pinned to the ground, leaving Jack defenceless.

The mage gasped as a cloaked figure glitched to appear crouched over him, kneeling across Jack's legs to keep him pinned. A hand soon clamped over his mouth and Jack's heart filled with dread. He looked up at his attacker, but then his whole body went rigid. Shock, fear, confusion…it all flooded his veins as he came face-to-face with something he'd thought was nothing more than a figment of his imagination.

Green hair, green soulless eyes, the psychotic smirk…

_What the fuck is **Anti** doing here?! How the fuck does he **exist**?! Oh fuck- He's going to kill me!_

Anti laughed insanely, tossing another knife in his free hand as he stared down at Jack triumphantly. "Too easy, Jack…this almost isn't fun," he hissed quietly. "Then again, I've always wanted to see a broken look on your face. Shall we find out how long it takes?"

Jack fought back all he could, screeching in pain and terror as Anti began to slice slowly across his neck. Knowing he had nothing more to lose, Jack released a powerful lightning burst from his hand. Anti shouted in pain as they were both left to the attack's mercy, the glitch teleporting away to avoid any further damage. He reappeared several metres away, turning with a snarl to stare at Jack's now-immobile body. "Fucking bitch," he snarled. "Stubborn as fucking ever." Before he could return to his previous task, however, an arrow implanted itself in Anti's chest.

He roared in anger at the distraction and recoiled from the impact, but three more soon followed. Anti growled lowly as he saw Matt fully recovered, firing mercilessly to defend his grievously injured friend. Knowing that he could only do so much while injured, Anti swore and teleported away. Another chance would manifest itself soon enough. _You'll be mine soon, Jack._

Matt stood rigid and alert as he saw Anti glitch away, not knowing what had happened but unprepared to think it was over so soon. After a few seconds of using his enhanced sense to scan their surroundings he realised they were safe for the moment. Not wasting another second Matt raced over to Jack, seeing the horrendous state he had been left in.

_Oh Jesus…_

His stomach turned at the various wounds and he pulled out the knives pinning Jack to the ground. Drawing both a blue and red healing serum from his inventory, Matt plunged both into the skin just above Jack's heart, praying it would work quicker. He watched as the skin stitched itself back together on both Jack's biceps and sucked in a breath at seeing the deep gash on Jack's neck slowly seal. _That was fucking close…if Jack hadn't let loose that lightning, he'd have been a goner._ The various burns on Jack's skin from the lightning blast returned to normal and his skin took on a much healthier colour. After another half a minute Jack jerked back to consciousness.

The Irishman jolted upwards and leant over on his arm, heaving in deep breaths as he gripped his neck desperately, confused when he found unblemished skin. A look at the ground beneath him found two empty syringes, helping to alleviate some of the confusion. He turned towards his companion, seeing Matt's slightly shell-shocked expression. The other man couldn't help but stare at the mix of deep fear and shock on Jack's face. "Matt…Jesus man, you saved my life. How did you fight him off?"

Matt took a couple of seconds to regain some of his senses. "A few well placed arrows, but I'm sure your lightning gave him a bloody good whack. I think the combination of the two led him to retreating. That attack was…demented. Why the hell did that happen? How the fuck do we fight something like that?" Jack sprang back to his feet and was running all but full speed, intent on making it back to Glaysha. "Jack! Slow down! Fuck." Matt stood and gave chase, completely confused as to Jack's behaviour.

Jack didn't give a damn, however. He was just intent on putting as many walls between himself and his psychopathic dark side.

_How the fuck is he here? What does he want?_

_What does this mean for us getting out of here?_


	7. Fear The Dark

Matt raced after Jack, but it did not take long for Jack to escape his view: the younger man was by far the faster runner. Glaysha had only been a few minutes' run from where Anti had launched his attack, but that few minutes had Matt's mind going in circles. He'd seen videos that Jack had created of Anti, seeing the vision of Jack's fans come to life on screen. But to be faced with him as something living, breathing… _terrifying_ , it had shaken Matt. He could only imagine the chaos Jack's mind was in. It gave rise to so many more questions, and he didn't even know where to start with searching for answers. One thing it had proved, however, was that the Dreamscape was dangerous. In more ways than they expected.

_We need to find Mark. Fast._

Once back within the relative safety of Glaysha, Matt ran towards the library, guessing that was where Jack had fled to. He headed straight for Alix's refuge, praying that no NPC's would be around. Some turned their attention to him as he charged through the door and into the storage room, but Matt wasn't taking the chance of someone stumbling in. Taking time to lock the door behind him, Matt then opened the path to Alix's study. When he came bursting through, breathless, he was relieved to see his guess had been right. Jack was sat in a chair, white as sheet, staring off into nothingness. Alix was knelt before him, trying to break through his intense gaze, but he was lost to his own thoughts. As soon as she spied Matt, she leapt to her feet and pulled him to a distant corner of the room.

"Jesus, Matt, what the hell happened to the both of you? Jack stumbled in here, pale as a ghost, and has been zoning since he sat in that chair. I've never seen anything like that before," she asked frantically, but then her eyes caught the state of him. Though Matt was now physically unharmed, his armour was still scorched and blackened from Anti's lightning. "Shit, that isn't Jack's lightning, is it?"

Matt shook his head. "Christ, I wish it was, Alix. I don't think either of us would be nearly so freaked if it had been. How much do you know about Jack's dark side, Antisepticeye?"

She turned thoughtful for a second. "I remember him doing that whole theme through a month, finishing with that Halloween video he brought out which had Anti killing him. That came out only a month before I got stuck here. Matt why-"

"Because that's who attacked us. Anti is…he's _alive_ , and he's here, in the Dreamscape." Alix's eyes widened impossibly, the news having clearly come as a shock to her. That did Matt's concerns no favours. As one of the creators of the Dreamscape, she would have known more of its workings than anyone. The fact that Anti's existence had come as such a shock to her had him fearing the worst. "Alix, can the Dreamscape bring things from people's minds to life? Could it have conjured Anti as a challenge for us to best?"

Alix vehemently shook her head. "No, there's no way it can do that. The Dreamscape cannot access anything other than your conscious thoughts, we thought it would be too much of an invasion of privacy were it to go beyond that. It can read your reactions to situations and act around you accordingly, but that's it. The Dreamscape is nothing more than a space waiting to be filled by players. It's merely a foundation, it cannot directly affect whatever it is supporting. No…I've got a _very_ bad feeling about this. The only way Anti is here, is if someone used the software beyond what it was meant for and accessed Jack's memories, but they wouldn't be able to do it surreptitiously. The intrusion would be not only lengthy, but also painful."

Matt and Alix stood for several seconds, digesting the revelations imparted to each other before an emotionless voice broke through the silence. "I know when it happened." They both turned to face Jack. He continued to stare into the distance, but his gaze now seemed to be more focused. "Damien said that I got stuck in the Mental Matrix before I was uploaded to Glaysha. I was there for about a minute before he sent me on my way. The process after that was…excruciating. My head hurt like hell when I woke up here. Damien must have used that window to access my memories and create him."

"But that still doesn't explain _how_ or _why_ he's here," Matt continued.

Alix hummed in thought. "Jack, Anti is based around a glitch, right?" Jack nodded but remained staring off into the distance. "Then Damien had all the opportunity he needed. Anti isn't alive at all. We're inside a computer, and a glitch only exists inside a computer system. He exists here because Damien made a program for him. That's all he is, a _program_."

That finally broke Jack's gaze, and he turned his attention to Alix. "Then how did all of…that, feel so real? It really felt like he had-" Jack cut himself off, the echoes of the pain he felt still reverberating through his body. He desperately tried to avoid thinking about the knives, especially the one that Anti had dragged across his neck- A violent shake of his head cut off Jack's train of thought, but he knew it wouldn't last long. The memory had been replaying in his head almost constantly since Anti's attack.

The programmer's eyes turned sympathetic, and when Jack held his right hand up to run over the front of his neck, she had a feeling just _what_ Anti had done to him. "Guys, for all intents and purposes, your minds think that what happens here _is_ real. It doesn't truly know the difference, not subconsciously. You are consciously aware that you are in a simulation, but your subconscious is now directly connected to the Dreamscape. It doesn't have that direct connection to your body to know the difference."

Matt's eyes widened in realisation. "Hang on. Alix, what will happen if we die inside the Dreamscape? If you are saying that our minds think that what transpires here is real, then…?"

She sighed deeply. "I honestly don't know. We wrote a program to auto-eject anyone who died in-game, but I wasn't directly responsible for that. In theory, the subroutine was designed to remove anyone from the game the moment before they died. It was deleted along with the exit program when I first became trapped here. I've tried to re-write it as best I can but…I've not been brave enough to test it."

"Because if it doesn't work, you die for real."

Alix nodded. "Plus, I don't have a body to go back to. For all I know, I could just end up floating in nothingness, or cease to exist. I always figured I'd find out how good a job I did of writing the code when I eventually couldn't cope with living here anymore. I really wish I had better answers for you two."

Her eyes hardened, and she then turned her attention to her inventory. Matt watched in fascination as she held her fingers over the display in a certain configuration, which then caused it to flash to a new screen. Line after line of data was streaming through faster than he could keep up with, and he realised with a start that Alix was staring at the game code of the Dreamscape. A holographic keyboard had appeared on her arm and she typed on it with her right hand, focusing hard on the rapidly changing screens. Jack's attention had been drifting again, but when he caught sight of what Alix was doing he stood and came to a stop next to Matt, the two of them watching in confusion as she jumped through display after display of code.

Jack almost jumped a foot high when he felt a hand on his left arm, but soon regained control of his breathing when he realised it was only Matt. "Shit, sorry, man. I didn't mean to freak out on you like that."

Matt smiled gently at him. "Don't worry about it, Jack. I'm not surprised after what Anti did to you. I know this is probably the worst possible time to ask this, but…how do you feel?"

The change in Jack's demeanour was noticeable. His shoulders had gone rigid and his eyes dimmed in remembrance. "I'm not going to lie, dude. I'm shit scared. I mean- _Jesus Christ,_ I just had Anti try to drag a knife across my throat! The worst bit is I'm sure a lot of this is self-inflicted. I'm guessing that this program of Anti is based off how I _acted,_ as him. If I hadn't made him such a fucking psychopath hell-bent on killing me, then I don't think we'd have nearly so much of a problem now."

"Hey, Jack, we don't know if that is true or not. Plus, I think Anti is a fair bit more complicated that that. He's not just an act that you put on, is he? I'm guessing that when you were making those videos, it kinda came naturally to you? It was less of an act and more of an expression of how you thought _he_ felt, am I right?"

Jack's eyes widened. "That's freakishly accurate. How-"

"Just a little bit of psychology knowledge. I think Anti is _literally_ a sub-personality. Let's class you as 'Jack', the dominant personality. Beneath that, there are lots of sub-personalities that we can access for different situations. When someone is putting on a brave face? That's them accessing a different personality temporarily. That's where split-personality disorder comes from, when ones of the sub-personalities begins to vie for outright control with the dominant one. I think what's happening with Anti is kinda comparable."

The Irishman stared at Matt for a few seconds. "So… you think Anti is actually a part of _me,_ as a whole? Does that mean all my other egos that I've made for my channel are probably the same sort of situation?"

"Probably, I don't know nearly enough about it to say. But it would explain why Anti seems very lifelike for a computer program."

"I think Matt's right." They switched their attention back to Alix at her words, seeing that she was now reading down one screen. "From what you two have said, Anti seems way too diverse to be just a fabrication. Not even the AI we have in here can create something like that. It's almost like he has a mind of his own." She finally stopped and read more carefully. "Gotcha. You were right, Jack. Anti was created only a minute after all three of you were uploaded to the Dreamscape, Damien had a program waiting. Son of a bitch, that means he planned this. He brought Anti here on purpose." Her eyes widened in shock. "Oh shit…"

Matt and Jack shared a look. "You know, when someone says 'Oh shit', it really doesn't do my nerves any good," Matt attempted to joke, though he was half serious.

Alix grimaced. "Sorry, I know that didn't help but…I've found Mark."

The other two gaped at her. "What?!"

"Where is he?!"

"He was deliberately dropped in a separate location from you two…and he's in Dark's lair. That's on the other side of the map. Crap, I'll have to go get him."

Jack held onto Alix's arm as she closed the screen and prepared to go to the other side of the room. "Hang on, what do you mean 'you'll have to go get him'? How can you get over there? And why can't we come with you?"

Alix paused for a couple of seconds before answering. "There are teleportation stones as part of the game, I have a cluster of them here that I've managed to collect from the merchants. I can use them to get to the Ancient Castle and hopefully retrieve Mark without arousing too much suspicion. The problem is Damien will now know that I am still alive in here. Accessing the game codes as I just did will have reverted my status to active." She quickly returned back to the game codes and brought up the player statuses, turning her arm to let both Jack and Matt see what was there.

**_Active: Mark Fischbach. Glaysha Simulation Running. Area: Ancient Castle, 2F_ **

**_Active: Matthew Fredrick. Glaysha Simulation Running. Area: Glaysha Town, Library_ **

**_Active: Sean McLoughlin. Glaysha Simulation Running. Area: Glaysha Town, Library_ **

**_Active: Alix Cathroe. Glaysha Simulation Running. Area: Glaysha Town, Library_ **

"I have a feeling that we won't be left alone for very long, so we need to find Mark fast. And, I mean this in the nicest way possible guys, but you'll be sitting ducks against Dark right now. We can't risk you two getting hurt, or worse, killed, in trying to save Mark. Please, let me go alone. I'll feel a hell of a lot better about it."

Matt shook his head sharply. "No way. Mark is our friend, we can't just sit here and do nothing!"

Jack joined in protest. "Yeah, and if Dark is as dangerous as you say, it may take all four of us to fight him!"

Alix stared at them both solemnly. "And if Anti is there too, waiting for Jack? I think you both know fighting the two of them is an impossibility right now. If we only had a bit more time I would train you both right now, but every second Mark is out there is a second too long. I dare not think what Dark will do to him." She flicked back to her inventory and pulled out two pouches of purple powder, offering one each to Jack and Matt. "Here, use these. They're a nifty little thing. It's for nothing more than aesthetic value, but I'm sure it'll make the pair of you feel a lot better." Both of them stared at the pouches before opening them up. "Dump them on your head." Jack and Matt both raised an eyebrow at Alix and shot her a dirty look. Despite the seriousness of the situation, she couldn't help but laugh. "I'm honestly not trolling you! As entertaining as it would be to douse you both in purple chalk, that is not what I'm doing. Trust me?"

Knowing that Alix would probably not try and prank them at a time like this, the pair both sighed before upending the contents of the pouches on their heads. Matt coughed as some of the powder got into his nose and Jack threw Alix a look, suddenly wondering if she had been intending on tricking them. She smiled gently at the pair of them. "Look at each other."

They turned back to one another and stared in wonder. Matt's armour was now pristine, the scorch marks having vanished, as well as the crack which had appeared in his breastplate from where Anti's lightning had connected. Jack's tunic and cape were no longer scorched and the tears in Jack's arms had been repaired. The blood which had stained his white cape was now also gone. "I knew some players would want to carry the scars of their battles with them, but I also knew others wouldn't. We developed the powder so you could have the option. I've got a large stash here, so feel free to take as much as you want. Now you don't have to carry the physical signs of Anti's assault with you."

The moment was swiftly ruined when a large explosion could be heard outside. All three of them grasped for something the steady their balance as several more rang out in the next few seconds, the blasts being accompanied by violent shaking of the ground. Alix's breath caught in her throat: she knew the timing was far too co-incidental. Jack's voice stole her attention briefly as the chaos outside died down. "Fuck! What was that?"

Alix didn't waste any time and ran to her desk, retrieving her halberd as she pulled a concealed lever. A ladder dropped from one of the higher bookcases, which Jack and Matt could now see was a false front. Alix quickly scaled it and pulled one of the books to the right at the top, causing the false section to depress and reveal another path. "A secret room, inside a secret room. Seriously? That is just _so_ clichéd," Matt muttered as the pair followed her.

They climbed the ladder and crawled along the narrow tunnel at the top, emerging in a narrow, circular, two-tiered chamber. A bed and bathroom facilities comprised the bottom floor, while the ladder led to a second landing with a hollowed-out centre, allowing them to see all the way to the skylight above. As they climbed the other ladder, they realised the walls of the whole upper landing were made of glass, allowing them to see the whole of the town. Alix was fetching supplies out of various chests as another series of explosions shattered through the air. Everything shook from the force and both Youtubers turned their gazes to the outside.

Black fire was raining down from the sky, striking buildings, the streets, people…anything it touched was torn apart from the force. Matt and Jack watched in horror as screams ran out, the townspeople were running in fear and desperation from the onslaught. Several of the town's guards fell in a feeble attempt to protect the most vulnerable, but none could attack a foe in the sky. A bright flash from behind them caught Jack and Matt's attention briefly, but they were blinded by the light temporarily. The clatter of a window was the last they heard before they realised that Alix was now gone.

Jack opened one of the windows looking over the centre of the town, and the pair watched as they saw Alix charge into the danger: or at least what they believed was Alix. A small, what appeared to be girl, was running along the rooftops, her long red hair tied up in braids while a white and red coat all but drowned her small frame. The halberd on her back was clipped on at nearly 45 degrees so that it did not catch on the ground as she sprinted along, her eyes turned skywards. The pair soon saw what she was focused on: a shadow was descending from the sky. It hovered about fifteen feet above the ground and it was the source of the black fire which was causing such devastation. The both inhaled sharply as they saw a stream of black flames emerge from the shadow, incinerating everything it touched. Countless people were set ablaze in the square, as well as many stalls and animals which just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The shadow then stopped all of a sudden, halting its deadly assault. They saw the girl take cover atop the rooftops, hiding only a few metres away from the creature as she waited for an opportunity to strike. She glanced quickly up at their hiding place, confirming that it was indeed Alix, and held up a hand, urging them to stay put. Anguished screams rang out through the town for almost half a minute before a deep, echoing voice boomed through the area, almost leading Jack and Matt to wince form the force.

**_I see you have not yet learned._ **

Matt turned wide eyes to Jack, but the Irishman's focus was on the suffering before them. As much as they both knew this was only a simulation, the smells of burning and death, the screams of pain and grief were getting to them. This suddenly seemed all too real to them.

A small figure emerged from one of the buildings, which both Youtubers soon clicked was Eamon, the town overseer. He approached the shadow, hands held in front of him in submission. "Forgive us our transgressions, Dark One. We mean no harm to you, nor seek to cause you ire." The pair turned to look at each other, realising that this… _thing_ was Dark. Suddenly Alix's warning seemed all too accurate. There was no way they could fight _this_. Their attention soon snapped back to the scene before them, watching as the shadow descended to the ground.

**_Pests should know their place. This town knows that not._ **

Eamon shouted in anguish as Dark let loose another stream of fire, destroying an entire side of the square. Jack had to fight every fibre of his being not to get involved. The urge to use his shield to at least dissipate _something_ of Dark's attack was almost overpowering, but he soon realised that Alix was staring straight at him from across the site of that very attack. She must have been able to tell what he was thinking, for she shook her head at him noticeably. Jack instead fisted his hands tightly, cursing the being in front of them as he watched the town suffer.

"Please, oh Dark One! Spare the innocent, I beg of you! They have done nothing to deserve this!" Eamon begged, descending to his knees before the being. Both Jack and Matt's hearts hurt at the pleading and desperate town from the old man. A scoff of disdain echoed around the area in response.

**_Then suffer their fate instead._ **

They both shouted in horror as they saw the shadow prepare to strike the overseer, but a battle cry from above stole its attention. It turned its attention to the figure which had just leapt from above and hurtled fire at the girl, but as the flames died it was soon evident that the attack had struck nothing but air. As Dark was distracted Alix leapt down from the roof, racing towards Eamon and gathering him over her shoulder, racing him to safety. Just as her decoy was destroyed, Alix had managed to get Eamon to shelter, before racing back out into the heart of the fight. In the flash of an eye three versions of her were suddenly visible. The copies either side raced to either side of the shadow, halberd glinting off the sun shining overhead as the weapons came crashing down. No damage was done to Dark, but it successfully distracted it. Once it had deflected one and attempted to attack the other apparition, the real Alix swung out in a large arc, cutting straight through the shadow before she spun and cleaved downwards. The damage was evident and the shadow roared in displeasure, exploding in a fiery rage. Alix was thrown by the blast and landed hard on her back, rolling on to her front in a desperate effort to take cover.

Dissatisfied by the turn of events, the shadow let out another screech, suddenly condensing into a humanoid form. Everyone around stared in terror as the creature made its fury evident.

**_Vermin! I offer you one chance to atone for your insults! Bring to me the one who interferes with my world! I give you two days to save your pathetic existences! Deliver them to my castle if you want to live! DO NOT FAIL ME!_ **

The figure then paused, looking at the surrounding area. It locked its gaze on Alix, who was taking shelter behind the ruined wall of a building, narrowing its stare briefly before hurtling a ball of black fire straight at her. The crumbling walls were blown apart and came crashing down atop her hiding place. Once that was done, Dark turned its stare back to the town, but subtly turned its attention to the glass tower overlooking the square. It smirked as it caught sight of both Jack and Matt, knowing that his plan was coming together perfectly. _It will not be long now._ Dark was then consumed by black fire, vanishing only a few seconds later.

The town was in disarray, but both Jack and Matt were frozen to their spot. They knew those down below could use their help, but they couldn't get what they had just seen out of their heads. The air in their lungs had caught the minute Dark had taken on a human shape, and they now suddenly feared the worst.

When Dark had shifted, they could have sworn they were staring down at Mark.


	8. A Close Call

Matt and Jack were both staring at the scene of destruction before them for several more minutes before they managed to shake enough sense into themselves to move. They saw the carnage down below and couldn't just sit there; Jack led the way as they found their way into the town square. Both of them froze as they first arrived. Seeing the devastation wrought by one being up close shook both of them to their cores. Matt spied red hair in the distance and pointed Jack toward it. They both raced over, coming to a halt as they finally saw Alix. She was still in her disguise as the girl, who turn her gaze to them and smiled gently.

Alix was wrapping a bandage around Eamon's arm, covering the wound on the older man's forearm. He was currently sat on a bench inside one of the ruined buildings, Alix knelt on the floor in front of him. His gaze was infinitely sad as he looked over the losses of his people, and he smiled sadly. "Ah, Wanderers, I wondered if you had been caught in Dark's onslaught. I am pleased to see you are both safe."

Jack sat beside the old man as Matt knelt next to Alix. "We are fine, Eamon, we were clear of the danger," Matt answered as he stared at the injured appendage. "How badly are you hurt?"

Eamon's smile turned grateful as he turned his gaze to Alix. "This is all, a minor wound from one of the explosions. Had it not been for young Cassie here, however, it would have been far worse." Alix looked up briefly and blushed, before leaning down to leave a small kiss on the older man's hand. "Cassie, why did you attack Dark? You must have realised what danger you were putting yourself in."

Matt and Jack were both surprised when Alix answered in a much higher pitched voice. "Eamon, you know me. I just jump in head-first. Ayala will probably kill me when she finds out, mind you."

"Speaking of your sister, where is she? She normally comes to the square when there has been an attack."

Alix's expression turned sad. "She's out of town, she said she needed to investigate something. I'm worried for her now though, I can't help but worry that she'll be in danger from Dark." The Youtubers tried their best to keep straight faces as they saw Alix smoothly lie to the overseer, and they couldn't help but be saddened. Clearly Alix had taken at least two forms in the Dreamscape, Ayala and Cassie, but they had to wonder…was she losing her own identity in doing that? How long could she keep that up before something happened?

Eamon placed a reassuring hand on Alix's cheek. "Fear not for your sister, Cassie. She is fearsome, and I have no doubt she will return soon. It is probably for the best that she does not see what has befallen Glaysha until we have at least removed the bodies of the dead. By the time she learns the number of dead, the shock of the attack will have worn off."

She sighed at him. "I hope so." Her gaze turned to both Jack and Matt. "Besides, I'm hoping that the appearance of these two is a good thing. New Wanderers can only be a good sign, but I am worried. Jack and Matt have said there was a third of their party, Mark, who they have lost. We all know that the Wanderers have abilities beyond anything we can comprehend. If Mark has these and he is caught by Dark…any slim chance we may have of defeating him could be lost. I haven't given up hope, and neither has Ayala. Though after today, I wouldn't be surprised if the town begins to lose whatever small glimmer of it remained."

The overseer switched his gaze to Jack, and then to Matt. "And what of the two of you? You said before that you wanted to aid us against the Dark One, you have now seen his power. Do you still believe something can be done? This is not your fight, and I bear no ill will towards you should you choose to simply be on your way, but if you are willing to stand with us…I believe it may be a turning point for our people. Cassie has done all she can to keep hope alive, but one person alone is weak. Together, your many voices may be enough to convince our people to fight once more."

Jack looked at Eamon curiously. "If I didn't know better, I would say you side with Cassie. You think Dark can be beaten."

Eamon smirked lightly. "You are very perceptive. It is true, I think there is a way: though what that may be, I cannot possibly say. If our people saw two Wanderers willing to help our people when they need it most, it may restore their belief in them. Please, I ask you both, will you help us?"

Both Jack and Matt nodded without any thought. "Of course we will, Eamon. We'll do anything we can." Matt's gaze switched to Alix. "Cassie, can we maybe talk to you first? There's a couple of things I want to ask you." She nodded and gave Eamon one last check before leaving with both Youtubers. They headed back to the library, seeking the privacy of Alix's study. When they arrived, they both turned to her in concern. "Alix, are you all right? When we saw that wall you were hiding behind get blown up, we were worried."

Alix smiled at them. "I'm okay. What you guys saw get hit was another one of my illusions, by that point I was back with Eamon, already checking him over. Dark never realised where the real version was, luckily. It's how I've managed to avoid him for so long."

Jack let out a breath he hadn't realised he had been holding. "Okay. So, who are you now?" Now that they had the chance, they studied 'Cassie' in more detail. She was very short, not even five feet tall, with long red hair tied in braids. Her eyes were a piercing blue, while her skin was just a few shades lighter. The oversized red and white coat she was wearing covered a red leather corset which sat atop a white tunic, while black leggings and brown knee-high boots completed her appearance.

She smiled and posed for them. "A little different, huh? Cassie was intended as Ayala's younger sister in the Dreamscape. We designed her, but eventually chose not to fully implement her. A lot of the NPC's we generated we not added at the start, we hoped to add them later while switching other characters out. It was something we hoped to do to keep the Dreamscape evolving. I knew that Ayala was never designed as a combat character, but she is known to the town as being a powerful mage. Unfortunately, as I don't have magic as a capability, I couldn't duplicate her combat style. We never gave Cassie a class, luckily enough, so I just activated her code for anything combat related I need. It also means that I can switch between the two of them if I feel like I'm going nuts."

Matt looked at her in concern. "What do you do if both Ayala and Cassie are needed at the same time? Can you create a copy of the other?"

Alix nodded. "I can, but the copy is very limited. It only lasts for the maximum of a minute, so I only use it in the town so they are at least seen together. It helps that Cassie's background has it set so that the town think she is a bit stir crazy and likes to adventure. It gives a perfect excuse to have her conveniently 'vanish'."

Jack's face creased slightly. "Still, it must hard to have to play as two other people, rather than being yourself."

She thought for a few seconds before answering. A long sigh escaped her before she shimmered into water again, transforming back into herself. Her eyes bored deep into their own. "Let me ask you guys something. What would you do, in my situation? Don't forget, I'm technically _dead_. My body is gone, and the outside world believes I died a long time ago. My familyhas already grieved for me and has surely got on with their lives now. In reality, 'Alix Cathroe' is dead. So who am I now? Am I Alix? Or can I become someone new, try to start afresh with whatever opportunity I am given? In this place, I can be Ayala or Cassie, or I could probably dig out another character from the archives of the game and become them. I'm really not sure _who_ I am anymore. It's safe to say that my situation has left me with a little bit of an identity and existential crisis."

Matt and Jack stared at Alix sadly, realising that she had several valid points, but the young woman soon shook her head. "Anyway, this is something we can discuss later. As I'm sure you both heard, that attack was no coincidence. Dark knew I had been messing with the game's code, no doubt thanks to Damien. Interestingly enough, however, while it seems that Damien knows I am alive in here now, Dark doesn't have the same knowledge. From what he said in the square, he doesn't know anything other than I have been looking at the codes."

She walked quickly over to a chest and retrieved two items: a large bag filled with coins, and a small, red, translucent stone, which fit snugly in her closed fist. "Here, spread this out to those affected by what happened in the square, tell them it is from Ayala. If they know you are allied with her, you should be given a warmer reception. This," she held up the stone, "is a teleportation stone. This allows instantaneous travel across the world, but you have to know where you are going. It sort of acts off whatever you see in your mind. If you can conjure the image of where you are going, it will take you to that place. The major downside to this object is that you must have physically seen the area and retained enough knowledge of it to take you back there."

Alix wandered over to Jack and held out the purse for him. Her eyes shadowed for a moment and she grew shy. "I know I am asking a lot of you two here; but please, trust me to find Mark. In return, can you maybe help all those who are suffering in Glaysha? This may be a simulation, but…this is my home now. These people may only be computer programs, but they are all I have left. Matt, Jack…Please?"

The pair shared a small look before Jack smiled and hugged Alix, who blushed. "Of course we'll help everyone here. Just please be careful? Despite what you might think, you are _alive_ in here, Alix."

Matt nodded in agreement. "You've got a better chance of getting Mark to safety than we do right now. So please, find him. And once you've brought him back safe and sound, can you maybe train us? Watching all that unfold and not being able to do a damn thing about it was torture."

When Jack pulled back Alix's cheeks were still tinged slightly pink. She coughed lightly to attempt to regain her composure. "You've got it. Thank you both, so much. And...thanks, for being the amazing people I always thought you were."

* * *

 

Mark growled in frustration as he came across yet another dead end in the seemingly endless castle. He'd been searching for _hours_ to try and find a way out, but as yet he'd had no luck. On his travels he had come across a few wolves and the odd re-animated skeleton, nothing that had fortunately been beyond him. One scrap had left him with a nasty wound to his back, but it had given him the opportunity to try out one of the health serums in his inventory. He'd been impressed by the relief it provided – and less so by the fact it seemed that all pain was at the same level in the Dreamscape as reality. It had been a small hope in his mind that the pain from a claw being raked down his back would be diminished in a computer-generated environment. The searing burn at the site and the lancing pain when he had stretched even the smallest amount had quickly put pay to that theory.

Having realised that his surroundings were actually quite dangerous to his health, Mark had soon learned that he had his shield for a very good reason. Despite being known as slightly reckless and not taking full consideration of his safety, he was doing his damnedest to disprove that theory at the moment. Crackling of stone behind him had Mark spinning and drawing both his sword and shield, finding three skeleton warriors emerging from the ground. He snarled briefly before sighing. "I've had it up to here with you assholes!" he shouted before charging at the foes. One was an archer and fired at him, but it bounced harmlessly off Mark's carefully placed shield. The other two carried swords and swung toward him. Mark defected one with his own blade, holding fast against the recoil before aiming his shield at the other. The weapons were locked in a momentary stalemate before Mark pushed back.

He then crouched behind his shield as another arrow came hurtling towards him, waiting for the tell-tale twang of the rebound. As soon as it passed, Mark raced forward, making excellent use of the spiked front of his defence to dismantle one of the skeletons. Without wasting any time he swung at the other melee foe, crashing his blade through the bones it met. The skeleton crumbled to the ground in a disorganised heap, but Mark wasn't paying close enough attention. He screamed as one of the arrows slipped under his shield and struck him straight in the knee. Turning to see the last skeleton had backed away slightly, he switched his shield to his right hand briefly. Taking shelter behind it in a crouched stance, he then used his left hand to yank the arrow out from his left knee, crying out in agony. Not wasting any time he manoeuvred his left arm so that he could swipe through his inventory to a health serum.

The relief which coursed through his body as he stabbed the syringe into his knee was almost overwhelming, and Mark had to remind himself that it wasn't over yet. Now back to his full strength, he raced towards the final skeleton, making sure to stay safely behind his shield as he did so. Once close enough, he swung with all his might, yelling in rage and satisfaction as he saw the enemy crumple to the floor, defeated. " _Fuck you all!"_ he screeched, more than ready to get out of the castle. He'd seen enough over the last few hours to convince him of the quality of the simulation, and he was quite ready to be free.

Mark turned towards the roof and screamed upwards, hoping that his voice could be heard. "Damien! Pull me out of here, I've seen enough already!" Yet again, no answer came. He was now almost certain that he wasn't going to get one in the near future. With a defeated sigh, Mark sat on the ground, watching as the bones of his defeated foes vanished into dust. As with everything else he had slain in the castle, a mirror appeared on the wall in the place of his foes. "Ugh, again with this bullshit? What the hell do all these mirrors mean?"

Knowing he had nothing to lose by checking it out, Mark sighed again as he got back to his feet. Every time he had looked into a mirror in the castle he had come to a similar outcome. The reflection would attack, but the image he found was changing. To begin with, the reflection was almost identical to his own. Now, however, he found something else entirely. He paused at seeing what lay in the silvery depths this time, not sure what to make of it.

Mark saw himself, as he always did, but there were some marked differences. As before, his hair was longer and his eyes red, but now he could see a few other changes. The skin of his opposite was completely grey, while the armour he adorned was missing. Instead, a silver suit could be seen, moulded to his body like a second skin. The reflection stood confident, almost…mocking? Cocky? Mark couldn't quite understand it. He walked toward it and was almost shocked stiff when the reflection did not mirror his own actions. It instead smirked and shimmered away. "What the _fuck?_ What kind of trick is this?" He came right to the glass of the mirror and stared into it intently, reeling back slightly as he saw the reflection reappear. "Whoa now…this is just fucking nuts. How can a reflection be tripping me out?" he shook his head as he realised the answer.

_Because I'm in a fucking computer simulation which feels real, that's why._ Sighing angrily at himself for getting so worked up about nothing, Mark was about to step back when something completely unexpected happened.

The reflection attacked, but this time it didn't stop at the glass.

Mark yelled as he felt a fist close around his throat, wheezing as he felt the fingers constrict painfully. He grabbed on to the hand with both of his own but couldn't break the grip. His eyes widened as he saw the reflection smirk at him, then summon a black fireball in it's other hand. **_"Pity, this is all too easy,"_** it whispered, the sound echoing right through Mark's body.

Desperation kicked in as Mark realised the intent behind the statement and he let go with his right hand, reaching for his back. He grabbed his sword and swung down hard on the strangling appendage, dragging in a deep breath as he was finally free. The Youtuber stared in disbelief as he saw the severed arm vanish in a puff of shadows, scrambling backwards as he saw a leg appear from the shattered remains of the mirror. The rest of the body appeared, and Mark couldn't help but gape. It was almost like looking at an incredibly twisted version of himself. "What the _fuck…?_ "

The copy smirked nastily at him. **_"Run."_**

Mark didn't need to be told twice.

He fled, not looking back as the apparition laughed maniacally. Fireballs soon rained down on either side of him, with a few getting too close for comfort. Fearing that he would soon be caught, Mark turned down another corridor with no idea of where it was he was going. _What **is** that thing? And how do I fucking **get out of this place?!**_ Knowing the creature was not far behind him Mark began looking for any of the windows and ruined walls he had come across when on a higher level of the castle, hoping that if nothing else, he could jump and take his chances with whatever lay on the outside.

He'd been running for several minutes before he found another staircase, tearing down it and racing along the long corridor at the bottom. Mark swore loudly as it continued in a straight line, knowing he was a complete sitting duck. A fireball crashed into the ground ahead of him and Mark skidded to a stop as he saw the ground fall away. "Shit!" He managed to halt as he reached the hole, staring down into a bottomless abyss below. "Fuck, fuck, fuck. This is _so_ not good. What the hell do I do now?!" The gap was easily ten feet across. There was no way he could reach the other side and get away cleanly.

Mark's blood ran cold as the surrounding air changed, the whole atmosphere transformed by the monster chasing him. He spun and stared as it stalked towards him slowly. The ground, walls…even the ceiling were slowly being consumed by shadows which expanded out from its body. Everything was being lost to black nothingness, and it was spreading. Tendrils ran along the floor ahead of it, tainting everything it touched. Mark watched in fear as it slowly began spreading towards him. **_"Chilling is it not?"_** He stared up at the creature which bore a twisted version of his body as it spoke. **_"The unknown, the endless darkness. It truly consumes the soul with fear. A fear which you_** _cannot **escape. Tell me, Mark, what do you fear? Pain, nothingness…death?"**_ Mark involuntarily took a step backwards and barely caught himself before he fell into the pit. He really was seriously contemplating jumping into it and taking the chance of a quick death over whatever that…thing had in store for him. **_"Pitiful. This is truly_** _far **too easy."**_

Rapidly running out of time, Mark was about to turn and leap into the pit when he heard a strange whir in the air, almost like rapidly beating wings. _Oh what now?! As if I don't have enough issues!_

"Mark!"

Hearing his name be shouted from behind him, Mark turned to stare across the pit – as was stunned to see a young woman standing on the other side. Her hand was outstretched over the abyss, reaching for him. "Take my hand!" A roar from behind alerted Mark to the fact that the newcomer was not welcome: which made him think they were in fact friendly. Her eyes widened in sheer terror at seeing the shadows behind Mark grow and she screamed at him. "Take a step back and run for it!"

Not questioning the order Mark did as she said, stepping back to get a running jump. Unfortunately, he took two steps, not one.

The shadow hurtled a fireball as Mark started to run, striking him square in the legs. The Youtuber gasped in shock at the pain and stumbled, slowing him down enough so that he wouldn't reach Alix's hand. She called out his name as she realised he wasn't going to make it and jumped to meet him hallway. " _Mark!"_

Pain was all Mark knew as he felt another body slam into him in mid-air before it felt like all the air was being sucked out of his lungs. He felt an intense tugging sensation as Alix's hands clasped around a teleportation stone, leading them away from the danger.

Dark stared at the scene, slowly drawing back in his shadows. He glowered at the intrusion before smiling.

**_Time is insignificant. You cannot hide from me forever, Mark. Soon, I will watch you suffer._ **


	9. The Training Wheels Are Off

Neither Jack or Matt had really wanted to leave Alix's study, both waiting for her return with Mark, but their urge to start doing something useful eventually won out. After meeting with Eamon and gaining some useful hints on where best would be to give aid, the pair split up. Matt went to speak with those who had been injured by Dark's attack who were recovering in some of the buildings around the ruined square. He'd discovered many of the wounded in that area were actually the town's guards, and had pounced on the opportunity to learn more about Dark. Many of them had been in similar situations before and were more than willing to tell the YouTuber anything they thought was of use.

Jack had instead headed for a prayer house on the outskirts of the town, buying as many supplies as he could carry on the way. Eamon had told him that was where all those who had lost family members in the town would be gathered, preparing their bodies for ritual burnings. Though it had wrenched at his heart to face such death and raw grief, Jack hoped he could make a difference. He'd distributed the small satchels of coins, water and food he had purchased, while offering to keep any children entertained. It had struck a deep chord when he had seen several weeping children attempting to be consoled by grieving parents: especially as they were facing such a daunting task themselves. The small gesture of looking after the youngsters for an hour resonated with the townsfolk more than he could ever realise.

It had been almost two hours since Alix had departed when they both heard a low beeping from their gauntlets. Realising it was probably a signal, they headed back to her study at top speed. When they arrived they were stunned to find an empty room, but only a few seconds later they were forced to jump back as two forms appeared. They looked on in muted horror as they saw Mark and Alix appear from a small vortex which had opened in the side of the room, but they crashed to the ground violently, their momentum from their fall in Dark's castle having carried through the teleport. Alix hissed through gritted teeth as she held her right arm, having broken from the impact with the floor, while Mark was barely consciously. His legs were badly burned and his left shoulder had been dislocated from the fall.

Matt and Jack sprang into action and retrieved serums from their inventories. Matt managed to ease Mark on to his back before fiddling with his armour, trying to find ways to reach his skin. Once he had finally managed to pull away a section, revealing soft leather clothes underneath, he plunged a blue healing serum into Mark's shoulder and before using an amber stamina boost in his arm. The fact that Mark didn't even flinch at the syringes was telling. Jack helped Alix sit up and slowly injected her with a red serum, eliciting a painful screech from her as she felt her broken bones shift back and mend within her arm. She wheezed for several seconds before raising her other hand and opening Jack's inventory, retrieving another red serum. "Mark will need it," she managed to gasp out between spasms of pain as she handed it to Matt. "Split it between his legs, the serums are most effective at the point of injury." Not questioning her advice, Matt did so. As Alix began to breathe easier she nodded at Jack, urging him that she was all right. Turning his attention to his badly injured friend, Jack came to sit on Mark's other side as Matt finished with the injections.

The three of them waited for almost twenty seconds before Mark groaned deeply. His eyes began to flicker open, the vision blurry from having spent so long in the dimly lit castle. After a few more seconds he began to realise there were two figures staring down at him: one hand was resting on his right shoulder, while another was on his left arm. Still reeling from the attack Mark jolted upright, punching the figure on his left with his right hand, connecting squarely with Jack's cheek. Jack was knocked over as Matt grasped at Mark's arms, realising the other man didn't know where he was. "Mark, it's us!" Matt exclaimed as Mark continued to struggle.

Jack shook his head to try and regain some sense, not having been braced for the force of the punch before scrambling back over to hold down one of Mark's arm. "Fuck's sake dude, snap out of it!" he shouted. Seeing Mark's eyes were still not focused (and realising he was probably in a state of shock similar to what he had been after Anti's attack), Jack slapped Mark's cheek. Not that hard, but with enough force to get him back to reality.

Mark froze for a second, but in that moment he finally saw clearly. His eyes flickered back and forth between his friends, still disbelieving. "Matt? Sean?" he asked softly. Jack sighed in relief and leant back as Matt smiled, releasing him as well. "I'm not dreaming right now, am I?"

Matt chuckled. "Well…depending on how you look at it, all three of us are dreaming."

That earned a laugh from Jack as Mark sighed in exasperation. "Oh yeah, it's definitely you, Matt. What happened to you two? Are you all right?" He then finally twigged the change in their appearances. "Whoa, nice threads, guys. Look at us, all in character." His eyes switched to the room around him. "Where are we?"

"Talk about twenty questions, Mark," teased Jack. "Well, Matt and I are fine, though we've had a couple of run-in's. We woke up in the forest outside this town. It's called Glaysha, and it's pretty neat." The pain in his cheek began to register and Jack rubbed the tender area, wincing slightly. "Thanks for the punch, asshole! I've already had enough injuries without one of my friends adding to the list!"

Mark looked contrite as he saw the red patch on Jack's cheek slowly begin to turn purple, his fist was hurting pretty good too. "Sorry man. After what just happened, can't say I was really in my right mind." Deciding that he'd probably spent enough time on the floor, Mark stood up with Matt and Jack's help. The trio took a long look at each other, taking note of all the changes. Matt and Jack both stared at Mark's armour, the older man helping Mark put himself back together as the half-Korean took in Matt and Jack's new appearances. He couldn't believe how well both suited their new roles, it looked like they were completely at ease. "Sweet bow, Matt! It looks deadly. Are you a mage, Sean? I'm taking a wild guess from the outfit."

Jack nodded back at him. "Yep, and I can throw lightning. It's awesome! Granted I'm shite at it right now, but hopefully that won't last too long. With a bit of training, I'm sure I can get the hang of it!"

A small clicking sound from the table at the side of the room caught Mark's attention and his eyes widened as he saw the woman who had saved him. She was wrapping a blue stone in some cloth and walked back over to them, holding the object out to Jack. "Here, put this on your cheek," Alix suggested. "It's an ice stone, it'll help with the swelling. Unfortunately, the serums won't be able to fix that until you get a more serious injury."

The Irishman looked at her sceptically. "Seriously? You're saying I need to get hurt more before I could fix myself? That sucks!"

Matt raised an eyebrow at him. "Want me to stab an arrow in your butt? I'm sure that would qualify."

Jack glared at him. "I'll stick with the bruised cheek, thank you. I don't enjoy pain, and I especially don't want to get stuck by an arrow!"

Matt shrugged in reply. "Just thought I'd offer, dude." Alix giggled at the exchange, and Matt realised that Mark was still staring at her curiously. "Right, introduction time. Alix, you know of Mark. Mark, this is Alix: she's a player just like us. She also just so happens to be a fan of all three of us."

Alix blushed in reply. "You didn't have to add that bit, Matt," she grumbled through the dusting of pink on her cheeks.

Jack laughed lightly at her discomfort before continuing. "Alix was the member of Damien's team that they lost in here. It turns out she's been alive all this time, but was left here on purpose. And she's the reason we have _any_ idea what's going on."

Mark stared at her in disbelief. "What, for real? Wait…does that mean this whole thing was a set-up?"

Matt winced. "We've got a theory or two on that, dude."

* * *

 

The quartet spent the next hour filling each other in: from Alix' story, their suspicions about Damien, to Anti's appearance and the havoc Dark was creating. Mark was horrified to learn what had happened to Jack and Matt courtesy of Anti, while the others were shocked at what Mark had been through at Dark's hands. Alix had watched the interactions from the side lines, only joining in when she was asked a question or felt she could add something of note. She was more fascinated by the interactions of the trio before her, still in disbelief that they were actually _in front of her._ Three people who she had admired and idolised had been dragged into the mess of the Dreamscape - a mess of _her_ construction and design - and she couldn't help but feel both incredibly lucky, and very guilty. They shouldn't have been dragged into the situation they now felt themselves in, and the responsibility now on her shoulders hung heavy. She hadn't had the chance to test her re-written exit program, and their escape rested on it. But she couldn't help but wonder _why_ Damien had brought them in here. Though none of them said it, the same thought weighed on all of their minds.

_Why was any of this happening?_

Once they finally felt they knew all they were going to, Matt turned to Alix, remembering some of her previous words. "Alix, you said if you'd had a bit more time, you would have trained us before retrieving Mark. Well…since we have the opportunity, why don't we do it now? God knows we are going to need all the help we can get to get to grips with Anti and Dark."

Eyes lighting up at the idea, Alix nodded in agreement. Knowing a good place to train, she transformed back to Cassie, which Mark was fascinated by, and led them to the opposite end of Glaysha. It was a massive hall, which Alix explained was normally reserved for town-wide events, but was otherwise left empty. As they arrived she spoke to the guards, explaining that she was going to be training the Wanderers and that they were to be left alone. She then suggested they head to the centre of the town to help with the reconstruction effort.

Once they were inside, Alix shut the doors and bolted them from the inside, making sure that they would not be disturbed. Not taking any chances, however, the foursome set about closing all the shutters on the archaic slit windows, reminding Jack of the olden castles in Ireland, while lighting all the torches inside. "Alix, where did the inspiration for the detail of a lot of these buildings come from?" he asked her as they finished. "It looks very Celtic."

Now satisfied that she would be safe from exposure, Alix shifted back to her own form and gave him a shy smile. "A couple of us had Celtic heritage. One of the other programmers had family in Ireland, while my parents are Scottish. We both loved Celtic designs, so we added a few when we began constructing Glaysha. It just…felt right. I'm glad that you spotted them, Jack."

The four of them soon gathered back in the centre of the hall, the three men staring at it in the different light. It towered above them, at least three stories in height, while large stone pillars supported the massive timber roof. In the torchlight shadows flickered in ever corner, almost making it feel haunted. "It's a good thing the guards were so willing to let you use this place without too many questions, Alix," Matt commented as he took a closer look at the stonework of a nearby pillar.

Alix smiled at him. "You can thank the fact that Ayala is such a powerful figure in Glaysha for that. While Eamon may be the official leader of the town, Ayala is almost like an 'elder' figure. She's very wise and is known as a master tactician. Everyone in the town would go to her for advice if they could. That respect passes on to Cassie, which makes life easier. It's not often I use that influence, but this is _the_ moment to take advantage."

She then detached her halberd from her back, twirling it in her right hand with a confident smile. "Right, who's first for a crash course on Glaysha combat?"

The trio looked at each other for a couple of seconds before Jack placed a firm hand on Mark's back, shoving him forward. Mark looked back at him in exasperation. "Seriously, guys?"

Jack shrugged. "You're the only close combat character we've got, dude. You need the one-on-one more than we do!" he snickered as Matt smirked. The pair sat on a table at the end of the room, watching eagerly.

Mark glared at their enthusiasm for the whooping he was most likely about to get. "Traitors…" he muttered before turning back to face Alix. She was standing proudly, her halberd swung across her shoulders behind her neck as she held it securely. Mark wasn't daft, he knew she was ready at a moment's notice and would no doubt deck him if he made the first move.

Then it occurred to him: he'd lost his weapons back in the Ancient Castle. _Oh shit…_

"Ummmm, Alix, we might have an eeentsy problem," he said while scratching the back of his head awkwardly. She raised an eyebrow at him and her smirk grew. _Goddammit how can she do that?!_ "I might not have any weapons anymore."

Alix giggled at Mark's agitation before taking pity on him. "Why don't you check your inventory?"

Mark stared at her in confusion. "Wha...?" He followed her prompt and looked at his stash of items, stunned when he saw the final two items on the panels: his shield and sword. "How-"

"It's a mechanic we built in the game. We intended it so that if players died, they could respawn at the last town they visited. All their equipment would still be in their inventories, including their weapons and armour. We extended it to include those who lost them in fleeing from combat, so when we fled the castle, your items were returned a few minutes later."

Matt and Jack both almost fell off the table laughing. "Mark, how did you seriously not notice until now? Jack and I both twigged ages ago you didn't have any weapons!" Matt teased.

The half-Korean turned back to his friends with a grumpy expression and flipped them off. "Shaddup!"

Everyone else dissolved into giggles, including Alix, which was all the opportunity Mark needed. He charged towards her, swinging his sword in downward arc from behind the cover of his shield, but Alix recovered quickly. She swivelled slightly, allowing Mark's sword to crash into the axe end of her halberd, before she twisted the shaft, locking in Mark's sword at an incredibly awkward angle. He winced at the action and shouted when she spun all the way, dragging the locked sword downwards as her bladed end came hurtling towards his face. Mark was forced to let go of his sword from the momentum and braced himself behind his shield. With the opposite end of her halberd now free Alix rotated back again, throwing the axe end straight at Mark's exposed side.

He stumbled a few steps away as the attack connected, then stared at her in confusion. Alix smiled and tapped the flat side of her axe, indicating that she'd struck Mark with that area. The YouTuber looked on in slight awe. Alix hadn't even been _trying_. "Mark, I know you kind of just jump in head first, but you'll have to take a bit more care than that," she commented lightly. "If you'd just tried that with Dark, you'd have been a sitting duck. Knights can be offensive or defensive, but are most suited to a counterattacking style. It's up to you which way you lean. Now…" She swung her weapon once more, holding it solely in her right hand, with the axe pointing downwards and away from her body. Mark could see the edge gleaming wickedly, reminding him that they were sparring with deadly weapons. One wrong move and he'd be liable to lose his head. "Come at me properly this time."

Mark growled in his throat and charged in again, this time leading with his shield. Alix swung with her halberd, the lance colliding with the shield in a metallic crash, and stopping Mark's momentum. He then pushed at her again, trying to make her lose her balance before stabbing with his sword. She retreated as soon as she felt her momentum shift and jumped back out of Mark's reach. The pair began to circle each other: Mark with caution, Alix with a critical eye. Her senses were focused on Mark's guard, looking for any opening as he began to come up with a strategy. Alix's weapon meant she could keep him at reach and he needed some way to get inside her swing. He was so caught up in his thoughts that he wasn't watching Alix close enough, missing what her hands were doing. She had shifted her grip so that both hands were on her weapon, and Mark missed the small twist she gave it. He didn't hear the accompanying click either.

But Matt did. "Mark, she's doing something!" he shouted, giving him the heads' up.

The other man spun back to look at Matt following his warning. "Wha- Holy shit!" Mark exclaimed as Alix charged at him, but now with two weapons. Her halberd had split in the middle, so she was now battling with a single-sided axe and a short sword. Mark screeched and just managed to block the twin assault, stopping her axe with his sword and the blade with his shield. Seeing that Mark's balance was off, Alix dropped to her knee and kicked out at Mark's ankle, causing it to cave. He screamed in pain, totally distracted from the threat and was helpless to stop Alix's kick as she spun back to her feet. It hit him square in the chest-plate and he crashed to his back. Not missing a beat, Alix knelt on his chest and held her sword to his neck as her axe pinned his sword arm.

Matt and Jack watched, stunned. They had already seen Alix fight against Dark and realised that she couldn't beat him…but she'd just _trashed_ Mark. He'd not even stood a chance. How the _hell_ were they meant to fight Dark and Anti like this? "Damn…that was…" started Jack.

"Embarrassing. Mark just got _owned_ ," finished Matt.

Mark, hearing their comments, glared at them. "Oh yeah, sure, pick on the guy who just had to fight her! Before you make any sassy comments, why don't you two come up here and give it a go?"

Alix laughed lightly, removing her weapons before she hauled Mark back to his feet. "Sorry Mark, but that was a little one-sided. Don't forget though, I've had over a year of practice in here. It's not that much of a surprise that I know my way around my combat style now." She hummed in thought. "Maybe we should tackle you last, actually. Given that you three are a Knight, Sniper and Mage, you've kind of got all ranges covered. Jack is defensive, while Matt is offensive based. Maybe we should wait until we see how the team balances out before we concentrate on a style for you."

Jack realised what she was hinting at. "What about you, Alix? I take it you are offensive too?"

She rubbed her neck awkwardly. "Well, I like to counter a lot more, the fact that I'm agile as a Halberdier contributes to that. Add my Illusionist skills to the mix, and I can be the ultimate misdirection. Mark can't be stealthy in heavy armour."

Matt hummed in thought. "Okay, let's tag out for now. I'm up for this." He walked out to the centre, high-fiving Mark en route. The half-Korean then sat down next to Jack, exhausted. When all he got was a bundle of Irish giggling for his troubles, he swore back at him. Matt shook his head at their antics before turning his attention to Alix in the centre. Her eyes had shifted to a much harder stare and her gaze was fixed upon his bow. She wasn't messing around this time. _Interesting, does she feel much more vulnerable against ranged attacks?_ "All right, Alix. How do you want to do this?"

Alix's gaze switched back up to Matt's face for a few seconds, her smile reappearing. "Simple. Just hit me, preferably not in a critical location though. You've just got to catch me first." With that Alix threw a small pouch from her hand, something Matt hadn't even realised she had retrieved from her inventory. He coughed as black powder exploded all around him when it hit the floor, the smog temporarily blinding him.

When it cleared a few seconds later, Alix was gone. "Dammit," he swore, knowing that he was at a disadvantage now. He used is keen sense of hearing to try and pinpoint her, but he soon realised there were too many sets of footsteps. Growling in his throat, he yelled back at Mark and Jack. "Oi, you two! Can you stay still so I can focus?"

The pair shared a confused look. "That isn't us, Matt…" confirmed Mark.

Just as Matt was about to call bullshit, Jack spoke up. "Don't forget about her illusions, Matt! She can appear in multiple locations at once, but only one can hurt you!"

Realising that Jack was right, Matt started trying to pick out differences in the footsteps. He had been listening for a few seconds when he caught sight of movement between two pillars. Not hesitating, Matt fired an arrow: it struck nothing but air. He growled at realising it had been one of Alix's illusions but then spun 180 degrees, firing again while still mid-spin as he heard a charge from behind. Yet again, his arrow passed straight through an illusion. Matt continued to turn and fire at anything he could either see or hear, his accuracy deadly. Jack and Mark were both astounded by Matt's proficiency, but they knew it couldn't last. Matt didn't have an infinite supply of arrows.

That was when Jack thought of something. "Matt! If her illusions are anything like my magic, she'll be weakening! Listen out for her breathing!"

Matt sent Jack a silent thank you for the tip, cursing himself for not having thought of it earlier. Then he thought of something else. Taking the chance that Alix wasn't poised to strike he switched his gaze to his inventory, retrieving a stamina potion, and injecting himself within a matter of seconds. He instantly felt his sense sharpen even further, and his hearing was enhanced to the point where he could hear Alix. Jack had been right, her breathing was more laboured. Focusing hard on it, Matt rolled out of the way as two more illusions rushed him. He then sprang back to his feet and quickly fired behind another pillar.

Alix was forced to deflect the arrow and sprinted for more cover as Matt reloaded. He was faster, however, and managed to fire again. She listened for the tell-tale whistle as the arrow left his bow and dove left, just dodging the projectile. As she tumbled to the ground she pulled another smoke bomb from her inventory and threw it at Matt. While it broke his focus slightly, he was still heightened. Then something unexpected happened.

Matt screeched in pain as a loud twang rang out through the surrounding area, then several others followed it. His enhanced hearing cried out at the ringing from Alix's blade and axe colliding with the stone floor and pillars, throwing his co-ordination off. Then six figures rushed him at once. With nothing else to do, Matt took a guess and fired at the one to his right, but it was wrong. Alix's knee crashed straight into his back. He collapsed to the ground, defeated and exhausted.

Mark and Jack both sat there in awe. They'd never in a million years thought that Matt would have a chance, but he'd so nearly got Alix. A few seconds later the programmer had also sat down on the ground, panting herself. She leant back, staring at Matt's heaving form. "That was freaking impressive, Matt. You really are a natural."

He chuckled weakly, still on his stomach. "Didn't get you though," he muttered in aggravation.

She giggled. "That was more luck on my part than anything, I really thought you had me there. You won't need much help at all." It was then that Mark and Jack had decided to wander over. "See, Mark? That's how you fight."

Jack burst out laughing at the look of indignation on Mark's face. "Is everyone _seriously_ picking on me? No fair!" That got everyone going, the four of them all chuckling away.

Matt sat up and shrugged. "You're the easy target, dude."

Alix smiled at their banter, feeling like she hadn't in a _long_ time. This was what it meant to be around other people, to experience something new with people you didn't really know. Seeing their friendship made her feel exhilarated, but also sad. When they left, she would lose this. She'd be alone again.

Snarling at herself internally, she instead shifted the direction of the conversation. "You guys do realise what this means, right?" They all gave her a sceptical glance. She smirked at them as she winked. "No more going easy, the training wheels are coming off. Prepare for some ass-whoopings."


	10. A Steep Learning Curve

The rest of the day passed quickly, all of them hard at training. After their initial session Mark and Matt had split off to different corners of the massive hall, each trying hard to improve their technique. Matt's natural instinct with the bow was making life much easier for him – all his videos made with NERF and Zing bows was proving to be a very fortunate aid – but he was still not confident about firing on the move. In an effort to gain confidence, he'd enlisted Mark's help. They'd set up a target range along one wall, hanging various items from the pillars, wall, rafters and setting up some on the floor too.

With everything ready, Matt and Mark started their practice. Mark was giving chase with his weapons, learning how to move much easier in his armour, was Matt tried to shoot down all his targets. As Mark was right on his heels the whole time, Matt couldn't really afford the time to stop and aim. The first few runs resulted in a lot of misses on Matt's part, and Mark was steadily getting closer with each of his swings. Every time they ran through it both of them gained confidence and knowledge not only of their weapons, but their individual capabilities and limitations. Mark was realising that his physical stamina has increased dramatically: probably programmed in to make sure anyone who was a Knight wouldn't have an instant advantage or disadvantage depending on their natural stamina. Not only that, but he was gaining a sense of when to strike with his sword and shield, depending on his tactic. Alix had been right, the Knight class was very diverse, and he hadn't really made up his mind just how he would function in a battle yet.

Matt was realising there was much more to his class than just being an archer too. His enhanced senses were his greatest asset, and with it he'd discovered that his reactions were now almost instantaneous. The words from the description of the Sniper came back to his mind and he'd began thinking of ways to strategize with their unit. After having seen some of Dark and Anti's capabilities, he was thinking of ways to neutralise them and strike back. During their training he'd gained a good knowledge of his own and Mark's skills, but thus far he hadn't really had a chance to see Alix or Jack in any great detail. When they were finished with their own training, Matt made a note to himself to study their other two companions closely.

After three hours of solid work, Matt and Mark decided to all it a day. Their last two runs had consisted of Matt switching his aim between the targets and Mark, hoping to increase Mark's natural defensive instinct. He'd got one lucky shot to Mark's shoulder when the other man hadn't been braced for Matt to spin back and fire in mid air off a table, but he wouldn't fall for the tactic again. Just because he had a shield didn't mean Mark could hide behind it all the time, he needed to be smart with it. After they were all healed up they switched their attention to the opposite side of the room, having heard the efforts of Jack and Alix for the past few hours, but not really having seen it.

The hall was all but destroyed on the opposite side. Scorch marks could be seen throughout the area, and even some stone had fallen from the great pillars keeping the roof aloft. There was one large hole in the roof, showing them that it was now completely dark overhead, and some of the shutters keeping the windows blocked had crumbled under the force of the magic hurled at them. Mark and Matt's eyes widened at the scene. They hadn't realised that Jack's power could do quite _this_ scale of damage.

Training Jack had proven to be quite a challenge. As she had no practical experience of magic in Glaysha, with magic being a skill only given to bosses and players (the only NPC with magic was Ayala, and with Alix having assumed her identity it now left no NPC's with that skill set available), it meant that Alix hadn't truly known how it had translated through their programming. She'd seen Dark wield magic, but that was it. She'd really been wishing they hadn't put such a limitation on a mage's stamina once it became obvious just _how_ detrimental it was to Jack.

At the start of their training Alix had taken swings at Jack was just the axe half of her halberd, hoping that the lighter weapon wouldn't tax him too much, but it had only taken three attacks before she could see the strain on his face. Another five assaults and Jack had crumpled to one knee, his vision swimming. Now seeing the true sacrifice of wielding such power, Alix had changed the direction of their practice, helping Jack to become more proficient with accessing and using his inventory in tandem with his magic. She'd began using her full halberd, coming at him in steadily more powerful swings as Jack blocked. He'd learned quickly to keep the shield up just long enough and then retreat, using the time between attacks to flick through his inventory and gain a stamina serum. Three attacks gave him enough time to pull one out to begin with, but tat had soon changed. A bit of fiddling with his inventory and more practice with the control meant that not only was it the first item he came across, but he could retrieve the item without looking. By the end of the first hour he could now pull one and inject himself within the same attack, even gaining enough stability to inject himself while keeping his shield up.

The rest of their time they had dedicated to helping Jack gain control of his lightning. As they started he had all but no control, only able to give it a general direction. Jack had instantly refused to use Alix as a moving target, having seen the devastation he could cause, so she instead hurled items into the open for him to attack. It hadn't taken long for them to realise the attack was as much a blessing as a curse. While Jack could assault a large area at once, there was no way to choose what it struck _in_ that area. In the heat of a battle if Mark and Alix were going to be involved in close combat, there was no way for him to be certain of not hitting them.

Trying out a new tactic, Jack had instead tried to concentrate the energy into a small ball using both his abilities in concert with each other: he used his shield in a small area to concentrate the lightning into a ball, and then fire it. Both he and Alix had been astounded at the results. When he'd fired it at one of the pillars to see the range of the attack, he'd nearly blown half of it away. Now realising the was a way he could control his lightning in a more focused manner, Jack and Alix had restarted their training. As time went on Jack's resistance to the weakening of his body grew, and he could take more of the strain before he needed a boost. At the end of their training, Alix had finally convinced Jack to try fighting her, assuring him that her illusions meant there would be a very small chance of her actually being struck. With great hesitancy, he had finally agreed.

Mark and Matt had decided to end their training just as they sparred, and were almost dizzy from watching them. Alix had seemingly split into ten versions of herself, scattering in various directions, as Jack braced himself. He was still really nervous about fighting Alix but reminded himself that she didn't _have_ to attack herself. She could in theory just use her illusions. Two illusions came from opposite sides, one swinging with the full halberd as the other attacked with the two separate ends. Having been ready for such an attack, Jack cast his shield behind him quickly as he let loose a bolt of lightning. The illusion in front of him vanished as soon as the magic made contact, while the other's attack passed through his shield in a ghost-like fashion, the image of Alix vanishing soon after. Not resting on his laurels, Jack brought his hands together and quickly prepared an energy ball, holding the attack there as he watched for the next attack.

He soon came across a problem when he could feel the strain in his chest. His lungs began to contract painfully at the strain of holding the lightning within his own shield. Jack swore as he realised why Alix hadn't attacked again now: she knew that limitation and would be waiting for when Jack _had_ to let the assault go. Changing his strategy, Jack fired the ball between two pillars and then released a bolt right behind it, hoping to generate the right effect. His guess had been right – when the second attack struck the first it broke the shield holding the energy ball, almost like popping a bubble. The contained lightning burst forth in a wide area, and Jack watched as three illusions vanished. He also saw Alix roll away from the danger, getting herself out of range. Trusting that she would be able to keep herself safe, he buried his reservations and focused on the battle ahead.

Three more illusions rushed at Jack and he used the same tactic again, quickly conjuring the mini lightning bomb and releasing it at them while following it with a bolt. The detonation was a lot closer to him this time and he had to raise his shield to stop some of the residual energy from bouncing back and striking him. He rapidly injected himself, not willing to push his limits any further as he heard two more attacks from behind. Jack raised his shield and tried not to wince when he felt it take the strain of Alix's halberd, the programmer having attacked herself this time. Not giving Jack time to gain the upper hand, she quickly spun and attacked him with the opposite end of her weapon, stabbing the shield hard. Jack couldn't help but physically recoil at the force, the sharpened blade causing him a great deal of pain.

Realising he was about to be at a serious disadvantage Jack backed away at top speed, but Alix was too fast. Her natural agility as a halberdier was keeping her close, too close for Jack's comfort. She could still swing her weapon in sweeping arcs even while on the move, and it was making life extremely difficult for Jack. He just couldn't get enough distance between them. Knowing he needed to take a risk he fired a small bolt at the ground, shocking the pair of them. Alix cried out in surprise in pain at the attack and retreated to safety as Jack injected himself with a healing serum. The lull in the battle gave Jack time to try and come to terms with the stresses on his body but he knew he was reaching the end. The day's events cumulatively were proving too much, and he knew it wouldn't take much more for him to crumble.

Then, out of the blue, it ended.

Jack watched in confusion as Alix appeared in the open, gave him a small smile, and reattached her halberd to her back. He relaxed his stance and approached her. "Alix? Are you okay?" he asked breathlessly.

She nodded, exhausted herself. "Yeah, I'm fine: but you're not. You're dead on your feet," she replied knowingly. "Let's call it a day here. I think we've done more than enough. Besides…" She pointed upwards. "It's dark out. I know you say sleep is for the weak, but you'll need some tonight."

Jack laughed lightly and took a deep breath. He was more than a little relieved for the break, but he wouldn't admit that openly. "Whoa…" Both Jack and Alix turned to see Mark and Matt staring at them. "Dude…that was nuts!" exclaimed Matt.

"Yikes, that was intense, Sean," said Mark as the other two joined them. "You've got a fair handle on your powers now by the looks of it."

Jack and Alix shared a look. "Well…not really. I'm still getting drained a _huge_ amount, but I'm slowly getting used to the strain. I really don't think we'll be able to do much more with focusing my lightning, I'm not designed as an offensive character."

Alix chuckled. "True, but you still pack a hell of a wallop, Jack. Your lightning _stings_. I think you'll be more helpful offensively than you think." She turned her gaze to Matt and Mark. "How did you guys get on?"

"Great, splitting off was a brilliant idea," answered Mark. "Matt and I learned a lot about our classes, and some of the passive skills are quite telling. I still feel like I could go another few hours, my stamina is now unreal. And Matt is stupidly fast. It's almost like he can see all of my moves coming and dodge before I've even taken a step!" Matt chuckled in response.

Alix smiled at them. "Excellent, I'm glad to know it went so well for you. Well…I have something I want to do, if you three are open to trusting me?"

Jack was the first to respond. "Safe to say we do by now. So, what is it that you want to do?"

She pulled a teleportation stone from her inventory and held it out between the four of them. "I want to show you something. So long as all four of us are in contact somehow, we can use the stone together." They all nodded in acquiescence and took a grip of each other's shoulders before Alix teleported them. All three YouTubers' heads spun as they stopped, the sensation completely disorientating. Matt and Jack actually staggered as they finished, trying to stop the world from turning around them as Mark shook his head. Alix smiled sympathetically before turning her gaze to the area around them, smiling gently.

One by one the others changed their focus to the young woman and followed her gaze, each of them in awe of what they saw. "Holy…" was all Jack could say, but Mark and Matt agreed with his sentiment. There really weren't words.

They were stood atop a mountain, overlooking the vastness of Glaysha in all its raw beauty. Pockets of light were dotted around the landscape, illuminating the otherwise darkened landscape while the moon shone down from overhead. In the heart of the plateau was Glaysha Town, glowing like a beacon in the darkness. Shadows played across the buildings as the torches in the town flickered, making it feel alive even in the middle of the night. The world seemed to stretch on endlessly to the cliffs at the far end, where a storm could be seen raging. Lightning crashed into the ground and beyond to the sea below, while the clouds almost seemed to whirl around the structure. Mark stiffened as he finally caught sight of the castle, realising instantly what it was. "Wow…" started Matt in awe, "it just keeps on going, doesn't it?"

"This place is _enormous_ ," spoke Jack quietly. "It's no wonder you've got those teleportation stones, I'd hate to traverse back and forth over this landscape! I still can't believe this is built in a computer…it's unbelievable." He turned his gaze to the swirling black clouds in the distance. "So…that's Dark's castle, is it?"

Alix nodded in confirmation. "Yep, that's the Ancient Castle. In case you were wondering, that _isn't_ how were designed it. Dark changed that, along with everything else he messed up in here. I still don't know _why_ he's here, or why he's now taken on a likeness of Mark."

Jack scoffed. "Well, my psychotic dark side is wandering round, maybe it liked the fact that Mark's dark side is called Darkiplier and decided to play the part."

Mark glared at Jack. "Not helpful, Sean. Dark tried to kill me in that castle, I don't care to relive that sensation any time soon."

Jack spun and raised an eyebrow at Mark. "And Anti tried to slit my throat. Do you thinkI want to relive _that_?"

Matt chipped in. "Can I just say I'm really glad _I_ don't have a dark side? I don't think we could deal with three nightmares trying to kill us."

Alix laughed at that statement. "Yeah, small mercies, huh?"

* * *

 

The four of them had gone back to training the next day, eager to build on what they had developed the day before. At Matt's suggestion, all four of them had sparred together: Matt and Mark teamed up while Alix and Jack were paired. Battling as a foursome had been educational and they learned about each other's offensive and defensive frailties, using the knowledge to both exploit advantages and protect their teammates. As Mark and Alix became locked in close combat, Matt was trying to pick off Alix with his bow, while Jack was trying to not only keep Matt pinned down, but guide Mark into the right angles for Alix to strike.

The experience was well worth it, for what lay ahead.

Before their duel concluded a massive explosion crashed through the area, almost deafening all of them as the ground shook violently. They all shared a look, a suspicion in their minds of what was taking place before racing outside. Sure enough, the whole area was in an uproar. People were tripping over themselves in a blind panic, desperate to escape the latest attack on the town. Alix, having retaken the form of Cassie before venturing outside, climbed atop some nearby stalls to get a better look at the surrounding area. She could see smoke coming from a nearby area, and her gaze hardened at seeing the flashes of green lightning which struck surrounding buildings. "Jack!" she shouted backwards, turning to face the trio. "You ready for this?"

That one statement confirmed just who it was that was attacking: Jack knew he couldn't run from this fight, no matter how much his insides turned to ice. "Let's get that motherfucker!" he screamed, getting nods of encouragement from Mark and Matt. Following Alix's lead, the quartet raced to the right area of Glaysha, soon finding their target.

Anti was stood atop a monument, firing lightning in various directions at whoever was trying to run away from his assault. He occasionally threw a knife, the weapon embedding itself in whichever poor soul got in its path, laughing more maniacally with every death. Jack snarled at the display but was beaten to the punch when Matt fired an arrow straight at the glitch. Anti teleported away without so much as a glance, reappearing on the ground a few metres away from the group. Jack and Matt stood at the front of group, the older man ready with another arrow focused on Anti while Alix and Mark stood behind, keeping a close eye on the surrounding area. Jack took a couple of steps closer, separating himself from the others while Matt whispered to Mark and Alix. "Flank him, we need to try and get the jump on him."

The pair began to move, Alix to the right and Mark to the left slowly as Jack shouted at his alter ego. "Oi! Shiteface!"

Anti laughed. "Is that what you call an insult, Jack? I'm disappointed in you."

Alix shivered at the tone, the sound sending chills right down her spine as Jack continued. "No, I'm just stating a fact. Why the _fuck_ are you here?"

The glitch just smirked. "Awww, not happy to see me Jack-a-boy? Or is it just the reality of seeing me in the flesh rather than being figment of your mind?"

The Irishman scoffed. "You ain't answering my question. What are you _doing_ here?"

Anti glanced to his left and locked his gaze on Alix. She didn't flinch and instead pointed her halberd straight him. A derisory scoff was his thoughts on her action. "You shouldn't be here. I was told I'd only have these three idiots to deal with."

Alix kept her focus on Anti but could see Mark getting ready to attack further behind. "Hate to disappoint, but I'm not gone yet."

The glitch smirked wider, his eyes drifting to his right. Mark froze as he was made. Knowing their advantage was now gone, Matt took the initiative and fired his arrow straight at Anti. He teleported away and Matt jumped forward, taking a lucky guess at where Anti was planning to strike. Anti's swipe hit nothing but air. The oldest man then dove to the ground as he saw Jack charge and fire an energy ball, the attack zooming past overhead as Anti moved again. Alix and Mark ran to each other, going back-to-back to make sure Anti couldn't flank them as Jack and Matt re-joined them. The quartet had barely reunited when a lightning storm opened right above them. Jack raised his shield, the force slamming hard against him as Matt quickly injected him with a stamina serum. Alix used her illusions and sent them outside the protection of the shield: most were instantly struck and vanished, but three of them made it through unscathed, hunting the surroundings for Anti. They found him and charged in, forcing the glitch out of his spot. It broke his concentration, giving Jack a much-needed break.

Alix and Matt broke away and attacked Anti. The YouTuber fired arrows in a steady stream, keeping them just wide enough to encourage Anti to dodge rather than teleport. He took the bait and began retaliating with lightning strikes. Matt watched in slight awe as the green projectiles smashed into a barrier of light erected in front of him, sending silent thanks to Jack. Were it not for his shield, they really wouldn't be standing much of a chance. Alix then swooped in, several illusions joining her in an assault. Anti teleported away before he could be cornered.

Psychotic laughter began to ring out through the area, but none of the group could see their foe. They kept their eyes peeled, waiting for him to jump them at any moment. What they weren't braced for, was what happened next.

They had been so caught up in the battle with Anti that they hadn't taken note of the dark clouds swirling overhead. Nor did they notice the shadows which had began to snake their way along the ground towards their battlefield. By the time any of them discovered the entrance of another combatant, it was too late.

Matt spied the shadows which had been creeping towards Alix and fired towards the mysterious puddle behind her, but that only encouraged its advance. The shadows wrapped themselves around her like vines, ensnaring her whole body in vice. She cried out, but the sound was soon silenced as a vine clamped around her throat. The others were about to rush to her aid, but the distraction proved devastating to Matt. He screamed as a knife was dragged down his back and crumpled to his knees. Before he could even think straight again his bow was kicked out of his hand and the other was dragged behind his back in a painful lock.

Mark and Jack could only watch in horror as Matt found himself trapped by Anti, the glitch's knife poised at his throat while Alix was captured by the vines, barely able to breathe let alone move. While they thought furiously on what to do, they saw another collection of shadows begin to rise from the ground. It slowly took on a humanoid shape before what appeared to be a tar-like substance melted away, leaving the very physical Dark in its place. He smirked at Mark and Jack, knowing that the advantage most certainly lay with _them_.

Dark's smile turned sinister as he watched Mark and Jack's eyes darted across the scene, desperately thinking on whether there was _anything_ they could do. The pair shared a look, both coming to the same conclusion.

They were in serious trouble.


	11. Into The Wild

Mark and Jack were all but frozen to the spot, afraid to make any move that might doom their trapped comrades. Jack's focus was rooted to Anti and Matt, glaring at the glitch as he held their friend captive. Anti smirked at the barely repressed anger on Jack's face and pulled on Matt's pinned arm, eliciting a pained gasp from the older man. Mark, meanwhile, was staring down Dark, deeply unnerved by the confident and composed exterior of the creature which wore a stolen version of his face. He just didn't understand _why…_ Why take on the image of his alter-ego, Darkiplier? Why would a computer program copy something like his supposed dark side? Was it a ploy of some kind to get inside his head? If it was, it sure as hell was working.

He cursed under his breath, his eyes drifting to the struggling Alix. The shadow vines were keeping her stranded in mid-air, her limbs all pinned in place as one continued to constrict around her neck. She was completely helpless. Mark and Jack were both aware of just how dangerous this situation was to Alix and Matt; they needed to find some way to break them free of Anti and Dark's clutches.

As Jack watched Matt struggle against Anti, his attention was caught by Matt gesturing with his free left arm. He was pushing his forearm out as a hint, one which Jack caught on to fairly fast. He began thinking through the contents of his inventory, trying to see if there was anything he could use as a weapon. Then it hit him. They didn't need a different weapon. They needed a _distraction._

Mark felt as Jack nudged him with his elbow but kept his focus ahead on Dark and Anti as he spoke to him. "I hope you've got an idea, Sean, cause I'm stumped," he said softly. He didn't want to risk Anti or Dark overhearing them.

"Thank Matt for the idea, not me," answered Jack quickly. "We've got a couple of those smoke bombs in our inventories. Let's use one to mask us as we rush 'em. You charge Anti and I'll fire at Dark."

"You sure?"

"I can't risk hitting Matt with my lightning, but I can take a clear shot at Dark. I'm hoping that if he has to dodge it'll break his concentration or buy us enough time to cut Alix free." Mark nodded slightly in acknowledgement. Jack then leant partially behind Mark, making a show of whispering into his ear; except what he was really doing was finding a smoke bomb in his inventory, using Mark's body as a natural block so that Anti and Dark couldn't see. Once that was done Jack slyly passed the bomb into Mark's left hand, which was hidden behind his lowered shield.

"Gossiping isn't going to solve anything here, bitches," taunted Anti, drawing Jack and Mark's attention again. Their eyes drifted to Matt briefly and they could see he was in a fair amount of pain. If they were going to do this, it had to be soon.

Dark scoffed as Mark and Jack remained the same and took a couple of steps forward. Realising that standing together made them a much easier target, the pair separated – Jack wandered slightly towards Dark, but kept the distance between them the same and Mark managed to creep closer to Anti and Matt. The shadow stared at Mark intensely as he spoke. "Well, this is quite the predicament, isn't it?"

Mark swallowed hard before he answered, saying a silent prayer in his head that their plan was going to work. "Let them go, they're not the ones you want." He hoped his voice sounded as strong as he intended it.

Anti laughed mockingly. "Look who thinks they're _soooo_ important," he sneered while wrenching harder on Matt's pinned arm. The pained gasp in response drew Mark and Jack's gazes to him, and Matt could see in their eyes that they had something in mind. His eyes skimmed over them and he realised that Mark was holding something in his left hand. Matt winked at them, cueing them to his knowledge of their plan. Neither of them acknowledged his action, though Mark did shift his stance slightly so that his shield arm was hanging in front of his body, rather than to the side.

"It's not exactly rocket science, you sick fuck," Jack spat back. "All you have ever been after is to kill me, and after the show Dark made in the Ancient Castle, it isn't hard to figure out that he wants Mark. Matt and Alix aren't part of this, let them go!"

Dark smirked. "I wouldn't say that. After all, hostages are a _very_ valuable weapon. Now…" the shadow snapped its fingers and the vines around Alix constricted further, completely cutting off her air. She began to struggle harder, but there was nothing she could do. "Drop your weapons, Mark. Jack, walk over to Anti. A trade: their lives for yours."

The pair momentarily froze at seeing Alix in such distress but soon snapped back to the situation at hand. They looked at each other and nodded before Mark tossed his sword on the ground in front of him. Both began to slowly walk towards their alter egos, but Dark tutted before they got too close. "The shield too, Mark," Dark ordered. "That has to go as well."

Mark sighed and slipped his shield off his arm, subtly transferring the smoke bomb between his hands. He held it in place against the edge of his shield as he held it aloft. "Fine, have it your way," he snarled at Dark, before throwing both items forward.

From the angle they were standing, Dark and Anti couldn't see the bomb before it collided with the ground.

Black smog burst out and surrounded the whole area, catching the two alter egos off guard. Mark and Jack sprang into action, Mark speeding to reclaim his sword from the ground. Knowing his friends needed more time, Matt used Anti's surprise to slam his head straight back, catching the glitch square on the chin. Anti roared out in anger but couldn't recover fast enough. Before he managed to reassert his position on Matt, Mark had reached them and stabbed straight for the glitch's chest. He teleported away, freeing Matt, who swiftly collapsed into Mark's outstretched arm. He just had enough awareness to weakly reach into his inventory and inject himself with a health serum as Mark shook him to try and keep him awake. "Stay with me, Matt. This isn't over yet," the half-Korean urged.

Dark had stumbled backwards as he coughed, the bomb having gone off right in front of him, and not even three seconds later a lightning ball slammed into his chest. The shadow shouted in surprise as he was thrown back, tumbling a few feet away from the force as Jack sped towards the captive Alix. Just as Jack had hoped, his own attack had disrupted Dark's concentration and Alix crumpled to the ground, motionless. His heart leapt into this throat as he picked up her limp form, rushing back to Mark and Matt. Mark's eyes widened at seeing the horrific purple bruising around her neck and quickly injected her with a health serum, hoping it would at least help. Jack frantically felt for a pulse and was beyond relieved when he found one. She was alive, just unconscious.

Matt was shaking his head to clear the last of the pain as the serum finished its work. Following a hunch, he then injected Alix with a stamina boost. His suspicion proved right a few seconds later when she then jolted awake, heaving in deep breaths instinctively. Matt kept an eye on her as Mark and Jack both turned the focus back to their alter egos, knowing it wasn't over yet. Sure enough, Anti and Dark were all but recovered. The two of them were now visible through the clearing black smoke, together on the opposite side of the square. Their fury at having been thwarted was evident in their stances: Dark's shadows were flickering behind him while lightning was crackling from Anti's fingertips.

Movement flickered next to them and Dark snarled as he let loose a stream of black fire, intending on incinerating whatever dared stand in his way. As the attack ended he glared at the empty space – it had been an illusion. Having also been concentrating on the foe that had nearly surprised them, Anti turned his attention back to where the quartet had been standing.

The group had fled.

Anti hissed under his breath and was about to strike out at the area around him when Dark crossed an arm in front of his chest, stopping him. The glitch snarled at him, but Dark stared him down coolly. **_"Leave them to lick their wounds, they'll be ours soon enough_** ," the shadow said.

From buildings either side of the pair, four sets of ears listened. Mark and Jack were hidden behind a set of destroyed double doors, while Matt and Alix were seated behind a ruined wall. All four of them were making sure to stay silent to not give away their positions; they could ill afford to continue the battle. "We're losing out on a good hunt here," hissed the glitch, the tone making Jack's stomach contents go sour. "I say we chase them down, it'll heighten the thrill when we end it."

Dark's eyes narrowed. **_"I will find no enjoyment in ending the remnant, she is inconsequential."_** Alix's face remained impassive, but when Matt looked over he could see the emptiness in her eyes. He suspected that statement had struck deep in relation to her own feelings about her survival. **_"Matt is fair game, whoever grabs him first can do whatever they want. Jack is of no interest to me, play with him however you like, Anti."_** The shadow's stance stiffened, and he glared at the glitch, his powers encircling him menacingly. " ** _Mark is mine._** "

Anti smirked as he drew his knife, flipping it in his hand. "You know, I don't get why you are so intent on killing him yourself. I can easy do it while I break Jack-a-boy."

Dark closed his eyes and stood still as a statue. " ** _You couldn't understand._** " With that, Dark melted into a dark puddle, the shimmering pool condensing into itself until it vanished.

The glitch sneered at the display as he sheathed his knife again. "No need to show off, you arrogant fuck." With that parting statement he too vanished, leaving the scene of their destruction behind.

It was almost ten seconds later that any of the others wanted to venture out, fearing the whole display had been a trap. Jack and Mark walked out together, surveying the area around them carefully. Once they had reached an open space and were happy they were in the clear, Mark beckoned Matt and Alix over. The other two joined them, and all four were more than a little shell-shocked. "That was fucking _nuts,_ " started Jack.

Matt went into his inventory and pulled out a pouch of the purple powder. "No kidding, I really thought that might have been it for me there. Thanks for the save, guys," he said as he dumped the contents on his head, removing any evidence of their battle.

Alix nodded at them gratefully, but it was obvious that she was not fully concentrating on them. "What happened? I really don't remember much after Dark got me into that vice, I was struggling to breathe too much."

Jack smiled slightly. "Thank Matt for the idea, he tipped me off to looking for the smoke bomb in our inventories. Mark was the one who managed to find a way of using it when Anti and Dark were caught completely off-guard. I'm just glad we managed to get you two out of that trap safely."

Mark looked at him in disbelief. "Excuse me, but you decided how we were going to free Matt and Alix. Don't discount your own massive involvement in this, Sean."

The programmer smiled at the three of them. "How about we just call this one a team effort? Well, you three anyway; I was completely helpless."

Matt nudged her lightly. "Nope, it was a four-way. Your illusion gave us the time to go hide." Alix blushed at the praise, earning chuckles from the three men. Matt's face soon turned serious again, however. "I think we need to come up with a plan, though. We all heard what those two nutjobs said. We can't let them get the jump on us again."

Alix smiled slightly. "I have an idea."

* * *

 

The quartet had spent the next hour preparing, setting out for the wilderness. They had soon come to the conclusion that they didn't want to test their skills against Anti and Dark again if they didn't have to, which left them with one other option: escape. They had already found out their task of recovering the Overseer's staff, which was last seen in the Ancient Castle. If they could bring that back to Glaysha and return it to Eamon, then the exit portal would open. And once they were out of the Dreamscape, then Mark, Matt and Jack could figure out a way to rid the digital world of the psychotic pair plaguing it.

They had set out as soon as they were ready, walking through the woods towards a temple on the far end of the cliffs upon which the Ancient Castle was situated. Alix had informed them that in the original lore of the game, the castle was a ceremonial site dedicated to preparing the bodies of the deceased Overseers of Glaysha. Once that was finished, they were moved to the Tomb of the Forefathers - and they were shifted through an underground network of tunnels. The group hoped that Dark and Anti would not be aware of the YouTubers' exit conditions, and would thus not be expecting them to approach Dark's stronghold willingly.

Unfortunately, the Tomb of the Forefathers was not somewhere that Alix had ever travelled to, thus they couldn't use the teleportation stones. That meant they had to make the trek on foot.

By the time darkness fell, they were two-thirds of the way to their destination. It hadn't taken long for them to set up a working camp, and they had all settled in well. Jack and Alix had set about preparing food for an evening meal as Mark and Matt had pitched their tents. Not long after they had eaten Alix had fallen asleep wrapped in a blanket around their campfire. Mark had carried her through to one of the tents, hoping she wouldn't be too badly disturbed, before re-joining his friends by the fire. Now that the three of them were truly alone for the first time since their whole adventure in the Dreamscape had begun, they were open and frank with each other.

"So…" started Mark, "anyone else just barely able to keep up with all the crazy shit that's happening in here?"

Matt chuckled. "You're keeping up? You're doing better than me. I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that your evil alter egos have come alive and are trying to kill us. It sounds like a plot for a series of YouTube videos."

Jack laughed lightly. "It does a bit. To be honest, this whole thing is completely unbelievable." The three fell into silence for a short while, before Jack spoke up again. "What do you two make of Dark and Anti? Individually they are a mystery, let alone wondering why they are working together. It didn't exactly seem like a harmonious partnership from that conversation earlier."

"Well, I think Anti is reasonably transparent, I think he just wants to kill Jack. This is just a guess, but I think he's probably wanting full control of Jack's body, and the only way he'll be able to achieve that is if he becomes the dominant personality," Matt suggested.

"And the only way that'll happen is if I'm not in the picture."

"Yeah. But Dark is an entire other story. I can't really wrap my head around what he said to Anti about not understanding…"

Mark waded in with his own suggestion. "I'm beginning to think Dark isn't simply a mimic of my Darkiplier ego. He goes way beyond that, and his motivation is puzzling me. I don't know what he wants with me so specifically. And what about the fact that he's actually existed in here for months? I think the whole parallel with Darkiplier is to get inside our heads. I'm beginning to suspect that Dark is closer to Damien."

Jack looked at him strangely. "Wait, you're thinking that Damien is controlling Dark in some way?"

"Maybe, I dunno. But I'm really wondering how Damien plays into all this. It's no co-incidence that we can't make contact with Damien the minute we got into Glaysha, and I can't help but wonder whether he deliberately steered us come in here. The question is _why_?"

"Well," interrupted Matt, "I think the only way we're going to solve this mystery is to get out of here in one piece. Alix might be on to something with the staff. There's a chance that Dark and Anti aren't aware that we know how to get out of here, Alix was an element they hadn't factored in. Dark even called her a 'remnant' earlier. They may not have thought that we have any way of finding out how to unlock the exit portal. Once we are free of the Dreamscape, we can confront Damien face-to-face."

Jack's face morphed into a scowl. "But, guys…what about Alix? We can't just leave her in here with these two psychos." Matt and Mark's faces both fell. "She's been through so much, she's lost her whole _life_ for this place. The Dreamscape was her dream, and its turned into a nightmare which she has no escape. We can get out, but…"

Mark sighed. "Sean, I don't think we _can_ do anything. Alix said herself that there's nowhere for her to go. When we get out we can look for some way that we can help her. We can't really help if we get killed in here though." Jack gritted his teeth in anger, knowing Mark was right but really wishing there was _anything_ he could do right now. He stood and left their gathering around the camp, heading for his own tent. Matt and Mark both watched him leave in concern. "Do you think I shouldn't have said anything?" Mark asked in concern.

Matt shook his head. "I don't think whatever you did was going to make any difference, Mark. We know what sort of person Jack is: he'll do anything he can to help someone. I think Alix's situation is eating away at him inside, and the fact that we're now trying to escape is making him feel a hundred times worse. I hate myself for it too, but I know it's all we can do. This decision isn't easy for any of us. Give him some time, I think he'll be okay. The whole situation with Anti is messing with him pretty badly too." Matt gaze shifted from their fire to Mark. "How are you coping with all this? I think I'm the one in the least crazy position here."

The half-Korean turned his eyes to the stars overheard, thinking for several seconds before he answered. "I really don't know what to think, and I'm not trying too hard to solve it: I'll lose all my sanity if I do. Dark is a mystery I don't think I have any hope in solving right now, not until we find out what role Damien plays in all this. That's what I keep coming back to. Answers are not something we'll come by easily in here, not with the danger element hanging over us." Mark turned to face Matt again. "Honestly, I think you're going to be the best chance we have at solving all this. You aren't in the same position Sean and I are, you don't have some madman chasing you in a demented hunt. Think you can try?"

Matt's eyes widened. "You think I can figure this out? I think you're giving me too much credit, Mark."

A chuckle was his answer. "I said you've got the best chance, Matt." The two fell in a momentary silence before they turned their attention to less serious topics, hoping to unwind some of the stress of the past couple of days. As they continued their discussions into the night, electing themselves as their first watch for the night, they were unaware of their restless companion deep in thought.

Jack sat from within his tent, having heard everything they said. He knew they were right, there was nothing else they could do but try and escape the Dreamscape to find a solution from the outside. But…

_I can't leave this place without knowing she'll be safe. Even if Mark is right that Damien is controlling Dark, Anti answers to no-one. And they know she's helping us… No matter what Alix says, she matters._

_There has to be **something** we can do._


	12. The Price To Pay

When the group set out the next day, they were all relatively subdued. Mark and Matt noticed as soon as they had awoken that morning that something was wrong with both Jack and Alix, but neither had found the courage to face them about it. When Mark had briefly alluded to Jack's quietness, the Irishman swiftly shrugged him off. The first half an hour of their journey had been spent in a slight atmosphere of tension. The two older men had frequently swapped looks of concern, and they only heightened when they realised Jack and Alix were actually _avoiding_ each other. Something had happened through their watch that night, and whatever it was had left things awkward between them.

Unable to take any more of it, Mark marched up to Jack and grabbed him by the arm. "Hey! What the fuck, Mark?!" he exclaimed as Mark continued his rapid walk, bringing him further ahead of the group.

Mark didn't look at Jack as he pulled him further away. "Come on, you and me need a chat," he replied sternly.

Alix stopped for a few seconds as she watched them leave, and had to stop herself jumping as she felt a gentle arm on her shoulder. She turned to see Matt smiling at her sympathetically. "Those two aren't the only ones who need to talk," he said knowingly, seeing her guard instantly raise. Alix turned to leave again but Matt's grip on her shoulder tightened ever so slightly. He took it as a good sign when she paused again. "Alix, it's okay. You can open up to us; I know you've buried yourself in this world in an effort to survive, but you are still your own person in this place. As much as you may have lived this past year as Ayala and Cassie, you are _Alix_." He thought back to the day before, to the look he had seen in her eyes as they hid from Dark and Anti after their battle. The emptiness which had shown ran deep. "You aren't inconsequential, not to us." He gave her a couple of seconds to mull over what he had said before going on. "Please, Alix."

She sighed deeply before turning to look at Matt fully, letting her guard down. "You say that, Matt, but I really _don't_ matter, not like you three do. You three are famous YouTubers who inspire millions of people each, and what am I? I'm a computer programmer who has been officially dead for a year. I don't have a place in the outside world anymore. Dark was pretty accurate in what he said yesterday: I'm a remnant of a dead woman. All I am now is a bunch of 1's and 0's woven together to resemble the mind I used to have. And…I am the reason you three are stuck in here. If I'd never come up with the idea of the Dreamscape none of this would have happened. You'd all be in the real world, living your lives peacefully." Her eyes lowered from Matt's. "Like you should be…"

Matt realised what was going on now. "This is why you and Jack are avoiding each other, isn't it? You fought over this last night, didn't you?"

Alix nodded solemnly. "Something like that."

* * *

 

_Alix had awoken halfway through the night, ready to take over from Mark and Matt for her stint of the night watch. When she'd emerged from her tent, she had been shocked to find Jack was alone outside, staring intensely into the fire. Upon hearing her emergence he gave her a faint smile, which she returned shyly. Despite having now known the three of them for a couple of days now, Alix still felt inferior next to them. She came to sit next to him on the log by the fire, and soon realised there was something serious on his mind. When the silence had stretched for ten minutes, Alix spoke up. "Jack?"_

_Jack turned his gaze away from the fire again and gave her a gentle smile. "Yeah?"_

_She frowned at him slightly. "Are you okay? I know I don't really know you, well, at all really, but you don't strike me as someone to sit and stare in silence." Jack sighed and looked away again. "What's wrong?"_

" _I'm just…thinking."_

" _About what?" Jack didn't answer her. Alix left it a few seconds before she tried a different tactic. "You know…I never really got the chance to thank you properly." Jack spun back to her. "For before, for saving me from Dark. If you hadn't managed to break me free, I don't think I'd be here right now."_

_Jack gave her a tight smile. "You don't need to thank me, Alix, I just did what anyone else would have done."_

_Alix raised an eyebrow at him. "Right, cause anyone else wouldn't have used that moment of distraction to run away? You guys could have just fled with Matt, you didn't have to risk yourself attacking Dark. You didn't know that was going to work; you could have just pissed it off and been forced to fight him." Jack looked down and Alix took an educated guess at what was eating away at him. "Anti isn't your fault, Jack."_

_The Irishman scoffed. "You know that's not true, Alix. Either he's based off my imagination, at which I'm swearing at myself for having such a fucked up head, or worst case scenario Matt is right about him – Anti is a sub-personality of mine. If that's true, then he's been living inside of me all this time. The thought that he's always been there is just- It's terrifying."_

_She tentatively put a hand out, but hesitated before committing to her action. Eventually Alix placed her hand on his forearm, catching his attention again. "Jack, everyone has their dark side. We all have that little part of ourselves that we seal away and never let see the light of day if we can avoid it. It's not your fault that this place allowed **your** nightmare to come to life. That…is **my** fault."_

_Jack shook his head at her. "No way, Alix. None of this is your fault."_

" _Isn't it though? I'm the one who came up with the idea of the Dreamscape. I'm, in essence, the creator of this place. When I first thought of the applications of it, I didn't dream that we'd even had such control over people's minds. I swore to make sure it could never be used to access anything other than surface thoughts. The fact that it's been used in such a way against the three of you – it sickens me." She looked down with tears in her eyes. "If you three don't make it back, I'll never forgive myself."_

_He quickly brought her in for a hug. Alix froze for a couple of seconds before embracing him back. The physical contact tore at her heart even more. She'd never thought she'd have this kind of interaction with anyone again, and it was terrifying her. It was beginning to give her a taste of life again: and she didn't know if she could take it. "This doesn't end with us escaping, Alix. We need to save you too."_

_Alix shook her head against his shoulder. "No, Jack. I'm not a part of this. You three need to escape and get away before you become victims of this place too."_

_Jack pulled back and looked at her hard. "I am **not** leaving you here, we still have so many more options to explore before we give up."_

_She scoffed and stood, walking away a few steps before spinning back to him. "Like what, Jack? I have no body to go back to! I'm **dead!** I have been for a long time! This is my reality now! I'm a-" Her voice broke slightly, causing Jack's heart to twist in pain. "I'm a ghost, and echo of a woman who once lived." Silence settled between them for a few seconds and Alix could see Jack struggling to accept the idea. _

**_He really is that amazing a person_ ** _, she thought._

_Letting all of the fight go out of her, she stepped back to him and looked him in the eye, smiling sadly. "Jack, there are some things you just can't change or fix, no matter how hard you try. You can't save everyone."_

_Jack stood for several seconds before shaking his head at her. "I'm not giving up that easy."_

* * *

 

Matt listened to her re-telling of the events of the previous night with a sad smile on his face. He could empathise with both of them. The rational side of his brain knew Alix was right: there was no way back for her, really. But his heart and the other part of his mind agreed with Jack. They couldn't give up that easy. She sighed deeply as she finished, turning to look at Mark and Jack. The pair of them were on the verge of shouting several metres ahead and her heart hurt at seeing them at odds with each other.

"Well, I don't know if this well help any but…I agree with both of you," Matt stated. Alix spun back to him in confusion. "With what we know now, there really isn't a way back for you. But who's to say that's how it will be in a year? Five years? Or even ten years? You've been by yourself thinking about this for a year, but things have changed in the outside world. Technology is moving so fast now, there's no telling what we might be able to do with a bit more time. So, while you're right that you are _technically_ dead and have no body to go back to, that may not be the case in the future." He gave her a serious look. "Alix, if the chance ever came up…if somehow it was possible for you to return to the outside world, would you? You've already grieved for the life you lost, and those who loved and knew you have moved on. Would you want to go back?"

Alix opened her mouth to answer, but hesitated, not sure of the answer herself. Matt smiled at her. "Hang on to that uncertainty, for Jack's sake. Even if it turns out there isn't a way, I think the hope of a chance will do his mind the world of good. He would do anything in his power to help someone in need. I know you are probably scared to hope, but it isn't necessarily a bad thing. The hope of a future might give you a better motivation to fight. The will to live is a powerful thing.

She smiled at him earnestly, accepting his points. "Very true. Thanks, Matt. I'll definitely think about what you said."

About fifteen metres ahead Mark finally stopped, rounding on Jack with hard eyes. "All right, what's the deal?"

Jack looked at him irritated. "What?"

"Something is going on with you, you're not subtle when you're annoyed. There's something sitting in your head and you need to get it out. So, spill."

The Irishman glared at Mark. "Does the phrase 'back the fuck off' mean anything?"

Mark glared back. "Don't give me that bullshit, Sean. This isn't like you, you aren't normally this moody."

"Yeah, and this is something that doesn't concern you, so get off my back."

"Well fuck you too, asshole. Way to make a guy feel loved."

"I'm sorry, I'm not the one who dragged someone to the middle of nowhere to snap at them to stop moping around! So if all you're going to do is snap at me, I'll leave."

Mark grabbed onto Jack arm before he stormed away, earning an icy look from the Irishman. The half-Korean took a long, deep breath before restarting the conversation. "Okay, so maybe I was being an ass, but this isn't like you, Sean. What's eating at you?" Jack's posture eased at the gentler tone from Mark and he hesitated before answering, eventually turning to look at Alix and Matt. The pair were still deep in conversation. Mark followed his line of sight and decided to take an educated guess at what was on Jack's mind. "You can't bring yourself to leave without knowing she's going to be okay, right? The thought of escaping and leaving her behind is killing you."

He nodded sharply. "It fucking sucks, man. She doesn't deserve _any_ of the shit she's been through."

The older man sighed. "Most people don't deserve what they go through, Sean, but it still happens anyway."

Jack snapped his arm away from Mark's grasp violently. "Don't give me that shit, Mark! If it weren't for Damien trapping her here, Alix would still have a life! And if we're right about our theory of him and Dark, it means this is all because Damien wants _you_. So how is any of this fair?!" In his outburst Jack didn't quite realise how his statement came across: not until Mark went white in the face. He swore at himself as he replayed the words in his mind. "Shit, Mark, I didn't mean that as it came out. It sounds like I'm blaming you for all of this and I'm really not. I'm just really angry at, well, everything really. Angry, confused…and feeling a little helpless."

Mark nodded at him slowly, trying to rein his emotions back in. He really couldn't lose it now. "I know, Sean. I really do know. How do you think I feel? At least we know _why_ Anti is after you. Dark is such a huge mystery and it's almost tearing my mind to shreds trying to figure it out. All I can think is that its taken on the guise of Darkiplier to get inside my head. But as for the _why_ , I really couldn't tell you. And if Damien is controlling it, then why does _he_ want me?" He was suddenly at a loss for words. "When you put it like that, this really is my fault in a way. Damien used Alix's vision to get at me. And he's dragged you two into it too. God, imagine what would have happened had more people said yes to this. How many others could have been lost in here with us?"

It was a sickening thought, one Jack chose to ignore. "Mark, like you said before, this is all speculation. We've no idea why any of this is happening, and we won't get any answers inside here." He saw the guilt on Mark's face at the train of his thoughts and hated himself for his big mouth. This was not what he'd wanted to happen at all. "Dude, I'm so sorry. That whole thing came out completely wrong. I just hate how something that came from _me,_ be it my mind or a part of my personality, is causing such danger for my friends."

Then it hit Jack: he wasn't the only one in this situation. "Oh god, you're feeling it too, aren't you? That same guilt." Mark nodded at him mutely after some thought. The pair stared at each other for a few seconds before Jack's eyes hardened, coming to a decision. "This place is messing with our heads badly, which I think Damien wants. Why else go to all the trouble of bringing Anti and Dark into the equation? So let's leave this conversation and get the hell out of here."

Mark gave him a questioning look. "Are you sure you are willing to do that, Sean? I know you don't want to leave Alix behind."

Jack gave him a tight smile. "Just because I'm leaving this place for now doesn't mean I won't come back." Mark's eyes widened at him. "We get out of here, we confront Damien, then we work on finding a way to help Alix. I know it may not be possible, but I feel I have to try. And when we're on the outside we should be able to delete the code containing them. We do that, they won't be able to hurt anyone ever again."

The other man chuckled darkly. "That's all _we_ are at the moment as well. That really doesn't make me feel very safe right now."

That earned a wince from Jack. "Good point. We need to shift our arses." The pair heard branches cracking under feet and saw their companions approaching. Matt gave them a friendly smile while Alix managed a tiny, but genuine one. Jack scratched the back of his neck. "Hey, um… sorry about his morning, guys. I guess I really wasn't being fair to all of you. Especially you, Alix. I'm not angry at you in the slightest, but I was pretty much taking it out on you."

She shook her head at him. "No need, Jack. This place really does mess with your head. Fortunately for all of us, Matt is keeping his pretty well screwed on." The oldest member of the group chuckled at the compliment. "You guys all good? That looked like it was getting intense for a second there."

Mark chuckled. "Alix, you've seen our videos. I think intense is synonymous with Sean and I." That comment earned laughs from all the others, breaking the tense atmosphere at long last. "I think we're as good as we can be until we get the hell out of here. Why don't we keep heading onwards to achieve that?" That comment earned nods from everyone, but Matt's posture soon tensed. It didn't take long for the others to notice. "Matt?" Mark asked in concern.

"Is it them?" Jack questioned quickly.

Matt's face screwed up in concentration. "No…I really don't think it is. The footsteps sound _way_ too heavy, and the pattern of them doesn't add up either." His eyes widened in realisation. "It's an animal, but its big. Brace yourselves, it's heading this way!"

The group all prepared themselves for battle, Alix and Mark ready at the front while Matt scaled a tree rapidly and Jack scrambled atop a large boulder. "Matt, can you tell what it is yet?" Mark asked as he kept his eyes peeled.

"I'm not psychic, dude, I've no idea! All I know is that it's big, it has four legs, and its on its own!" Then he heard something else which caught his attention big style. "And I hear…crackling?"

Mark looked at him in disbelief. "Crackling? You mean like static?"

Alix's eyes lit up in realisation. "It's a Thundermane! It's dangerous, be careful!"

Jack looked at her in suspicion. "Please tell me the name is not a clue to what it does…"

Before Alix could answer, the monster burst through the trees about fifty metres ahead of them. The three YouTubers' all stared in shock at the creature charging towards them. It was almost ten metres tall, comprising of the head and tail of a wolf, body and mane of a lion and twin horns of a rhino. Its eyes shone a luminous purple and matching colour electricity crackled between the two horns on its face. When it clocked the group ahead it gave a fearsome rumble which was somewhere between a wolf's howl and a lion's roar. It quickened its pace, rampaging toward them with a bowed head. Matt fired an arrow at it and the projectile landed square in the creature's eye. While this blinded its right eye, this only served to enrage it further. With a screech of fury it hastened its assault. Not wanting to risk Mark or Alix getting hit by the creature, Jack erected a shield a few metres ahead of them, injecting himself with a stamina boost to better prepare for the force.

Not even that could hope to stop the monster.

The barrier of light shattered at the point of contact with its horn, the combined momentum, electrical energy and weight of the creature overwhelming Jack's shield in an instant. He let loose a soundless cry as he was thrown back several feet behind, landing on the ground hard on his back. Jack felt his breath catching in his chest, unable to draw in air properly as he realised his whole body was going numb and cold. Then the pain registered.

A shaky hand came to rest on his ribs, right above his abdomen and he went rigid as he registered sticky contact. He weakly managed to pull it up and saw it stained red with blood. His vision swam and was going dark alarmingly fast, and he barely heard a scream of pain in what seemed to be the far-off distance. Even then, he still knew it. Jack's voice was barely a whisper as he managed to breathe out a tiny plea of help before everything went dark. "Ma-ark…"

He fell limp and stilled.

None of the others saw the devastating result of the attack, Jack's shield having collapsed far too far for any of them save Matt to see: and even then, he believed it merely a trick of the light from the Thundermane's lightning. Alix and Mark stayed together to the last moment knowing that if one of them split off early it could doom whoever the monster charged after. In that final second they both dove away, Mark to the left and Alix to the right, leaving the monster to charge past where they were both standing. Matt let loose another arrow into the fiend's neck, earning a roar in return, before it ground to a halt and spun back. Lightning arced from its twin horns and Mark hid behind his shield, screeching as the metal conducted the electricity. Alix raced to his side, injecting him with both a stamina serum and a blue healing serum as Matt fired again, landing perfectly in the Thundermane's other eye.

Now the monster was blinded, but still a threat. Alix dragged Mark closer to a nearby tree and shouted for Matt to take cover as they saw a large ball of electricity forming between the fiend's horns. With barely a few seconds to spare they all got behind the shelter of the wood as the energy was let loose in a torrent of bolts, striking everything in the immediate area. Matt had dove to a lower branch of the opposite side of the tree and looked over to where Jack should have been standing, his breath catching as he saw he wasn't there. Then it suddenly registered he _hadn't_ seen a trick of the light. It had been Jack's shield. " _Jack!"_ he shouted as loud as he could, but no sound was making it through the maelstrom surrounding the monster.

Desperate to end the fight, Matt drew his bow and quickly broke cover to fire at it again, striking the monster's open mouth. The flurry stopped a moment later, giving Mark and Alix their chance. With Mark now fully healed, the pair charged and dove under the Thundermane's belly, driving their weapons straight into the soft tissue. It wailed in agony as Mark's shield struck a wide area while his sword went deep, perforating anything it touched. Alix's detached axe tip and small sword also did devastating damage, and the combined attack proved too much for it. Just as they saw its balance going the pair withdrew, getting themselves out of harm's way. The beast tumbled to the ground, defeated.

Alix and Mark stared at the fallen carcass for a couple of seconds before Matt's panicked cry caught their attention. " _Jack?!_ "

Spinning around to look at the area, they soon realised the Irishman wasn't there. Alix's stomach hit the floor as a horrible suspicion built in her chest. " _No!"_ She bolted to behind the boulder Jack had been stood upon, Mark and Matt right on her heels. As they came to where Jack lay a scream of horror escaped Alix as she saw him, drawing the others' attention. They too froze at seeing him.

Jack was completely motionless on the ground, eyes closed and skin pale. His green tunic and white cape were dyed red with his blood, as was the ground around him, from the massive hole in his abdomen.

" _Sean!"_ Mark was the first to race over, drawing a red healing serum from his inventory and plunging it in the injured area. Alix and Matt were barely two seconds behind him, Alix shaking at what she was seeing. She placed her ear over Jack's chest, praying to feel or hear anything. When silence was all she got back, she whimpered before starting chest compressions.

Mark and Matt both looked at her in shock. "The serums only work if his heart's still beating!" she told them tearfully.

They shared a look of horror before turning back to her. "What can we do?" Mark asked fearfully.

"One of you will have to give him air, this alone won't be enough," she responded quickly, counting compressions in her head. Mark didn't even hesitate before nodding. As Alix began counting out loud, she shouted when the moment came. "Now, Mark!" Mark plugged Jack's nose as he gave him mouth-to-mouth, desperately trying to bring his friend back far enough to let the serum do its work.

"Dammit, Sean, don't do this!" he begged just before Alix shouted again, repeating the process. They went through five cycles before she felt a flutter beneath her hands and stopped, instead bending over to listen to his chest. She cried in relief as she felt and heard Jack's heart beating again.

Knowing he was going to need the extra help, she pulled out a stamina serum and injected it just above his heart. At the other two's looks of fear and confusion, she explained to them in an unsteady voice, still recovering from the scare. "His heart's beating again." The other two exhaled shakily in relief. "The stamina boost should help speed up the serum's work."

Matt sat back in an effort to slow his own racing heart as Mark stared at the near-fatal wound on Jack's body. "Jesus…what happened to him? He wasn't anywhere near that thing!" asked Matt.

Alix looked at them sadly. "Unfortunately, this is the greatest problem with the Aura Mage class. If their shield ever breaks under the strain of an attack, they will take the full force of it, regardless of whether it was aimed at them or not. Jack must have had a shield raised when the Thundermane first charged us, and it broke clean through. As a result, he was struck with the damage that would occur as if it had hit him normally. Judging from that wound, it's simulated as if he was impaled by one of its horns. This is the price of the shield's power."

Mark glared at her. "Wait a minute, you _knew_ this could happen to him?!"

She nodded at him. "Yeah, but I warned Jack when I started training him. He knows all this already."

That caused the other two to freeze. "Wait…so, Jack knew this could happen to him? He knew he was essentially putting his life on the line any time he used his shield to block an attack?" Matt replied in a stunned whisper.

Alix sighed. "He knew, but he was learning his limits pretty well. He's an extremely powerful mage, I wasn't ever too worried before now as I has seen what he could block. This was just too far."

Mark gulped at realising how close they had come to losing Jack. _No kidding it was too far. Why the hell has Sean been putting himself on the line like this?_ He already knew that answer: because that was just who Jack was.

About a minute later the wound was all but healed and Jack began to cough as he heaved in deep breaths. He hissed in pain as the puncture was not completely closed and his chest hurt from the compressions. The others laughed in relief as he spoke to them. "Okay, who stood on my chest?"

As their laughter subsided, Matt explained to him. "Oh dude, that would be you getting it lightly. First, that monster hit your shield too hard and you get a stab wound almost as wide as you are. Then, your heart all but gives up on us and we have to do CPR to get you back." Jack's eyes widened in shock. "Standing on your chest? That would be Alix's compressions. As for the mouth-to-mouth…well, let's just say the Septiplier shippers would have gone nuts."

Jack groaned as this registered. "Oh wow, really Mark?"

Mark held his hands up at the look he was getting from Jack. "Don't look at me like that, dude! It was a matter of life and death for you, _literally_." The half-Korean swiftly turned his gaze to Alix. "Wait a minute, Alix why didn't you ask if either of us could do compressions? This would have been _way_ less fucking awkward if you'd given him mouth-to-mouth.

Alix went scarlet as the blush rapidly spread across her cheeks. "Are you kidding me?! That would have been a hundred times worse!" She then smirked at Mark, knowing how to divert the attention away. "Just as well I can't get out of here, otherwise I could have told someone about the fact that Mark was kissing you, Jack."

Jack and Mark both groaned as Matt almost fell over laughing. "Don't worry, Alix, I will happily spread that around!" he sniggered, earning a rapid backhand to the arm from Mark.

Mark glared at the older man. "One, if Amy or Signe or _anyone_ finds out about this, you are dead, Matt. And two, it doesn't fucking count! It was mouth-to-mouth!"

Matt smirked at him. "Don't you mean the 'kiss of life', Mark?"

Jack shook his head on the ground, coughing as he soon found his face full of purple powder. He spluttered and aimed a half-hearted glare at Alix before she pointed to his abdomen, and the now vanished evidence of how close he had come to dying. Jack's expression soon turned to one of gratitude, at which she gave him a broad smile back. Their attention was brought back when Mark swore at Matt in response. "Oh fuck you, dude!"

The four of them paused before all of them burst of laughing at the conversation, but the relief was not far from anyone's minds. That whole situation had nearly ended up so much worse.

Off in the distance, two shadowed figures watched the scene with interest. **_"Well, that was_** _highly **informative."**_

The other figure sneered. _"I need Jack-a-boy **alive,** you moron! Your pet almost ended him!"_

Dark glared at the shorter form of Anti. **_"It's not my fault that Jack had no care for his personal safety, is it? Besides, it now gives us a large advantage. Mark and Matt will not allow Jack to put himself in so much danger again, which means we don't have to worry about him being such an impediment. Fear brings rise to caution, and with that caution…we strike."_**

Anti's glare soon turned to a cruel smile, turning back to the scene of the opposite group. _"Enjoy your moment, bitches. We'll have you soon enough."_


	13. Your Move

The group had spent a good ten minutes recovering after Jack's near miss, coming to terms with all the conflicting feelings before getting ready to move out. It was only once they had stood again and went to examine the Thundermane's corpse that Alix had an idea. She asked the others to help skin part of the carcass, hoping to get a large stretch of the body fur. When the others gave her an odd look, she spun back to them with a smile. "Well it didn't shock itself, did it?"

An hour later they were headed onwards to the tomb, Mark's shield now reinforced on the inside with the Thundermane skin. It had taken a little bit of fiddling to successfully attach the two items together, but the results had been well worth it. A quick test of Jack firing at Mark gave them exactly the end result they had been hoping for: Mark's shield could now insulate against lightning. That meant two of them could now block Anti at range, and it meant that Mark especially would be highly effective against him. It still didn't really solve the problem of how they were going to combat Dark however…

They reached the tomb just before night fell, and it was only at the end of the day that the others noticed something. "Hey, Alix?" Matt asked, catching the programmer's attention. "Is it just me, or do the days seem a lot shorter here?"

Jack nodded in agreement. "I was thinking that actually. Time seems to be flying in here."

Alix smiled at them. "Time isn't a constant, guys. It's relative to your perception. When we were building this place we had mastery of physics, in a way. Things like time, rules of gravity and the like…we could dictate them to how we choose. How do you think I managed to pull off that jump from the rooftops against Dark? In the outside world I'd have definitely broken a bone, or ten. We tried to project time to move at the same pace in here as it works in reality, but it wasn't easy. We managed to get it so that things move only at about 1.1 times the speed in the Dreamscape. If it was much faster, communication with the outside would become impractical, or even impossible."

Mark looked at her strangely. "Wait, so we've actually been in here _less_ time than we think?"

She nodded. "You guys think you've been in here three days now, but it's actually a lot less than that. The fact that Glaysha days are only 18 hours in length has a lot to do with that too."

"So, while we think it's been about two and half days, maybe 60ish hours…"

"Really you've only been in here about 45 hours in Glaysha time. Take in the discrepancy of time flow, you've only been gone for just over 40 hours."

Jack's head spun slightly. "That fucks with the head a bit."

Alix giggled. "It's not as complicated as it sounds, really. Just assume that you've only been in here for just over two-thirds of the time you think has passed, and you're pretty accurate."

Matt stared at her in concern. "Alix…does that mean it feels like a year and a half has passed in here for you?"

She took her time in answering. "Honestly, I had no idea how long it had been. I gave up counting long ago. Calendars and such don't exist in here, there is no long-term method of measuring time. They don't count years by days and months. A year is judged by the seasons in here, and even they are pretty screwy. Summer and Winter last longer that Spring and Autumn. I stopped keeping track, I thought it would just make me even sadder about everything. The only reason I knew how long it had been was when I went into the game files looking for information when you guys first arrived. I saw the date you guys were uploaded, and that helped me work it out."

The other three all looked at her sadly, to which Alix just smiled gently at them. "Hey, come on, cut it out, guys. It's not so much of a bad thing now, I've managed to make a life here. You've seen some of the wonders of this place, and there is more to keep discovering if I want to. It's not all bad. And…" she blushed lightly, "if this hadn't happened, I'd almost certainly have never met the three of you. Silver linings and all that, yeah?"

Jack was the first to the chuckle. "Yeah, I guess so," he said before walking over and hugging her. The other two soon joined in, making Alix's blush spread even further. When they pulled away Jack smirked at her. "At least lighting a fire tonight will be a piece of cake, we can just use Alix's face."

Matt and Mark both laughed as Alix stuck her tongue out. "Okay, as much as I may love you, Jack, that doesn't mean I won't get my own back later."

Mark swung an arm around her shoulders. "Just make sure you give Matt and I plenty of heads' up to get some popcorn ready."

* * *

 

Their stay that night in the tomb had been an unsettled one, and it had taken a great deal of effort for any of them to get some sleep, especially Mark and Jack. So many thoughts spun through both of their heads that it made getting anywhere near relaxed enough for sleep a challenge. In the end, Mark had managed to get three very broken hours before he gave up. When he left his tent to join the others, he encouraged Matt and Alix to try and rest, the pair having taken the first watch of the night. It had taken a while, but the other two did eventually head off, leaving Mark alone with his thoughts.

Now in the open, Mark allowed everything which he had been trying to quell in his mind come to the fore. He just couldn't stop thinking about his argument with Jack earlier, and the horrible apparent truth which Jack had unintentionally pointed out. No matter how he looked at it, he was at the heart of this situation. There was something there, some reason that Damien had engineered all of this…and he just _couldn't_ figure it out. So many factors pointed toward it – Damien's silence the minute they entered the Dreamscape, Dark's adopting of his alter ego, Darkiplier, his being separated from Jack and Matt when they first arrived… A sinking feeling had settled right in his stomach and he was having a hard time shifting it.

His statement to Jack earlier that day haunted his mind. He could only imagine how much worse this whole situation would have been had any of their other friends said yes to the invitation to Digitalia; it had already nearly cost him one of his closest friends. The image of Jack lying all but dead on the ground jumped back to the front of his mind and it took a great deal of effort to dislodge it.

_Stop it! Sean's fine, he's tough. Nothing is going to take him, or Matt, or any of us down that easy._ But the darker corner of Mark's mind couldn't let it go: he knew, deep down, there was every chance what happened earlier that day could reoccur. He remembered the words he had seen in the book which Jack had been given to symbolise him as a mage, the same book which lay in the Irishman's inventory.

**_A shield to those close to their heart._ **

Mark knew no matter how much Jack would promise to try and keep himself out of danger, it wouldn't stop him. They hadn't really tackled the issue much earlier, but now he _had_ to. If the scenario arose where one of them was in danger and Jack thought there would be even so much as the tiniest chance of stopping the attack, he would use the shield. He would use _himself_ as a shield. And the thought made Mark sick.

_I can't let what happened earlier today come about again. I've got to convince him to look after himself._

About half an hour had passed with similar swirling thoughts when he heard the rustling of a canvas not far away from him. He looked up to see Jack emerging from his tent, stretching and mid yawn. Mark chuckled at him and couldn't resist a quick jibe. "You trying to catch flies, Sean?"

Jack finished yawning and waved him off. "Nah, I'm fishing for sarcastic bastards." That earned a hearty laugh out of Mark and Jack joined in softer as he came to sit next to his friend. The pair of them sat quietly for a couple of minutes before a sharp wind cut through the area, sending a chill down both of their spines. "Yikes, this place is freaking creepy. I know it's a tomb but, jeez. I'm beginning to wonder how much of this is our mind playing tricks on us."

Mark chuckled darkly. "Saying that inside the Dreamscape is probably not the best idea, Sean."

The Irishman winced. "Yeah, guess you're right. I almost keep forgetting that we're inside a computer: it all feels so real."

_Real._ Mark's mind jumped back to earlier in that day again, flashes of their fight against the Thundermane taunting him once more. Jack saw Mark tense, could see the moments of fear and guilt across his face. He sighed deeply before he spoke again, knowing this next conversation was going to be incredibly hard. "Mark…" The half-Korean turned back to Jack. "Thank you, for what you did earlier today. I know we really never talked about it but- _Jesus_ Mark, you actually saved my _life_ with what you did."

Mark shook his head in response. "You don't need to thank me, Sean. I did what I had to do, I wasn't going to let you go. And we don't know that you wouldn't have just uploaded back to your body."

Jack levelled him with a stare. "If you really believed that, would you have done what you did?" The silence sat between them for a couple of seconds before Jack pulled him in for a hug. Mark held him tightly. "Thanks, man."

It took a few seconds before Mark found the courage to speak the words which had haunted his mind. "Sean, we need to make sure it doesn't happen again. It _can't_ happen again. You need to be more careful."

The pair separated, and Jack gave him a confused look. "Mark?"

"I mean, _fuck_ , Sean. You almost _died_ using your shield. What happens if it collapses again and its something that does it instantly? We had the chance to save you this time, but we might not be that lucky again. If we come up against Dark and Anti-"

"You can't be seriously asking me not to use my shield, Mark. That's insane."

"Sean, you are literally using yourself as a shield. If it fails-"

"It did this time, there's no reason to think it will again. I didn't know my limit before, but I do now."

Mark ran his hand through his hair in agitation. "This isn't a fucking _game_ , Sean! If you-" he cut himself off, swallowed hard and physically shuddered, making Jack's words die in his throat. He'd just been about to snap at Mark to stop being so paranoid, but then he suddenly tried to think of the situation from the opposite way around. If it had been Mark, Matt or Alix who had been in that position…he'd probably be reacting very similar.

_Wasn't it my determination to protect them against that thing which brought this about in the first place?_

After taking a deep breath to refocus himself Mark turned to look Jack in the eye, finally managing to dislodge the words which had been afraid to come out. "If you died in here, I don't think I'd ever forgive myself. Any of you."

Jack could now finally see what was truly lurking underneath the words Mark spoke. His near miss earlier had begun to break Mark's resolve. The older man had been trying his best to stay detached from his perceived involvement in this whole situation: reminding himself that there wouldn't be any defined answers until they faced Damien again. But now…their argument that morning combined with Jack's brush with death had brought all of those feelings to a head, and Mark was beginning to crumble under the strain. Jack knew that wasn't something he could fix, however. Only escaping would do that. "Mark…look, I can't promise that I won't use my shield, that's who I am. The Dreamscape made me like this for a good reason, so I can't ignore it. I can promise I'll be more careful. Alix warned me that it's just when the shield breaks involuntarily – if I drop it willingly just before it gets to that point, then I won't be affected. Or at least that was how they intended it when they programmed it, I've no idea if that is how it will actually work. At least then I can still use it, and if I can hold it long enough, whoever is in trouble can get away."

Mark thought this over and then nodded in agreement. "All right, that sounds fair. Just please, Sean…be careful."

Jack smiled at him. "I will, don't worry." His smile soon turned into a smirk. "I'm not the one with the reputation."

He got a light backhand to the arm for his comment. "Fuck you, asshole."

The pair soon turned their conversation back to more light-hearted topics, but it didn't completely settle either of their minds. Neither of them was truly ready to let out their insecurities to the other – not yet. The new day would maybe bring about courage.

From the shadows of their camp, a figure watched with a satisfied smile. The flickers at his sides begged to be unleashed but he quelled them with a wave of his hand. **_"That sadistic glitch was right, the anticipation is sometimes better than the end result."_** Dark's smile turned cruel as he watched Mark and Jack discussing animatedly, fighting the temptation to strike them now. He knew it would ruin his _true_ plan, however. **_"Oh Mark, I cannot wait to see how you react. This, you will_** _not **see coming."**_

* * *

When the group awoke the next day, they spent several hours searching the tomb for the pathway to the Ancient Castle. The tomb had proven to be much bigger than any of them thought, and much creepier. Torchlight lit the vast network of corridors, and the area was decidedly quiet. Moss was growing from the various sections of broken stonework where water had managed to make it in, and various beetles and small insects skittered across the floor and roof. It was much eerier than they had really acknowledged the previous night.

Unfortunately for them, Alix had not been involved in designing this area of Glaysha, so she hadn't the faintest idea where to start looking for the hidden passageway. After nearly two hours of searching the seemingly unending number of rooms on the top floor, they realised they had to split up. They had separated into two groups, keeping a melee and ranged specialist in each while making sure whoever was together could defend against Anti's lightning. That left only one option with the pairings: Mark with Matt and Jack with Alix.

At Matt's direction, they had gone to opposite ends of each floor, looking for any hint of a secret entrance. They each kept their eyes peeled as they raked through bookcases and chests, even getting to the stage where they opened tombs to looks for any switches. Most of the caskets had been empty – two had not. Mark and Matt had fought to keep their stomach contents down after the smell of each one. At the end of the third floor when they reunited, Jack and Alix winced in sympathy when they saw just how green their companions were looking.

As soon as they arrived on the fourth floor, they all felt a cold breeze rip through the area. And given they were now several floors underground… "You guys feel that?" Mark asked.

Jack shuddered, rubbing his arms. "Yeah, it's fucking freezing down here. This is where I'm really wishing I was wrapped up in some armour." Alix smiled at him and flipped up his hood. It wasn't much, but it was a help.

Matt wrapped his cloak a bit tighter around himself, feeling the cold as well. "Dude, my armour isn't helping that much. But there is a definite breeze here, and it isn't coming from the stairs. The entrance must be down here."

A noise in the distance made all of them a little jumpy. "I don't suppose we can hope that was just the wind knocking something down, can we?" Mark asked.

The three men turned their attention to Alix. "Any chance that's just a creature roaming the tomb?" Matt asked her.

She looked thoughtful. "Jack and I have fought a couple of skeletons and zombies on our side of the tomb: creatures can spawn here, though its rare. It could be that, or it could be the wind."

"Do you think it could be them?"

"Gut instinct says no, we haven't seen any hint of them, and there's been opportunities for either Dark or Anti to get the drop on us. I'm guessing it's been the same for you guys?"

Mark nodded. "Yeah, we've not seen the slightest indication. Let's just go with the theory of monsters though, just to be safe."

Matt turned to face the other three. "All right, we'll stay in two teams but keep in sight of each other, just in case the other needs backup." He got three nods back. "Jack, Alix, you head to the right. Mark and I will take the left. Keep your guard up."

The quartet split off, Mark and Matt heading to some statues and caskets on the left-hand side of the room as Jack and Alix began looking through the corresponding versions on the other side. They had been at it for a few minutes when a large clatter of stone in the centre of the chamber made all four of them jump. Alix and Matt quickly drew their weapons while Mark retrieved his shield. They all watched for a few seconds before Matt shared a look with the others. "Cover me, Jack. I'm going to check it out."

After receiving a nod from the Irishman, Matt began slowly traversing his way over, keeping an arrow notched in his bow. Mark stayed a few steps behind him while Jack and Alix watched the surroundings, making sure nothing was amiss. When Matt reached the offending area, he knelt down and examined the loose stone on the floor, turning his gaze upwards to see several missing chunks from the roof. Now satisfied as to the reason, he relaxed his stance and picked some of the pieces. "It's just some of the roof coming away, this stonework looks like it has seen better days." The others also eased, Alix and Mark putting their weapons away as Matt stood again.

"I think this place is just making us jumpy," stated Mark.

Alix laughed lightly. "The tomb specifically, or the Dreamscape in general?" she teased.

That got a laugh out of the others. "Would it be bad to say both?" Jack asked. Matt turned as he was laughing at Jack's statement, walking back towards Mark. Jack and Alix shared a small laugh as they headed back to the bookshelves.

Matt never made it back.

He screeched as the floor beneath him caved suddenly. Fortunately for him, Mark was still watching him and dove forward to catch him. " _Matt!"_ The half-Korean threw himself towards the hole which had appeared, landing painfully on his stomach as he managed to grab a hold of the other man. The momentum pulled them both further in, Jack and Alix barely managing to reach Mark in time to stop him falling in after hearing Matt's scream.

Mark winced and breathed harshly as he came to a stop with his stomach right on the edge of the hole, Jack and Alix both holding a leg each to keep him stable. His hands were locked on to Matt's wrists, the other man reciprocating the gesture with him. "Matt, you all right?" Jack shouted as Mark got his breath back from being winded.

Matt took a couple of seconds to answer. "Yeah, I think so. Jeez, that was close." He turned his gaze back up to Mark, barely able to see his face from the reflections of the torchlight from the floor above. "Thanks for the save, dude. You all right?"

The other man gave him a grimace and answered through gritted teeth. "I'm just fucking peachy…damn, this hurts."

"Matt, can you see anything down there?" Alix shouted.

"What kind of fucking question is that right now?" Mark snapped back, but it was mostly from the painful position he was currently situated in.

"Guys, we're about three stories underground. If Matt's fallen into an open space-" she continued, and Jack caught onto her thinking.

"Shit, she's right!" Jack interrupted. "Matt, do you think you're in the passage, or is it another floor?"

Now catching onto their thinking, Matt tried to look around. "I can't see a thing, it's too dark – there's no light down here. Can you guys grab one of the torches from the wall up there?"

Alix and Jack shared a look, at which the Irishman nodded at her. "I've got them, go." She gave him a quick smile and made sure they were all completely stable before racing away to one of the torches. Jack took a firm hold of Mark's feet and sat on the floor to keep himself steady. "Mark, you all right?"

Matt could see Mark was struggling in his current position. "Jack, can you shuffle him back a few inches? He's in a lot of pain." After fighting slightly with his grip on Mark's legs, Jack anchored his feet as best he could on the stone floor and tried to haul him backwards.

Mark drew in a deep breath as Jack managed to bring him back across the edge, managing to change it so he was resting on his chest instead. "Nice one, Sean. That's a lot better." Mark switched his focus back to Matt. "You okay, Matt?"

He got a nod back. "I'm fine, just feeling a little open is all. Where is Alix?"

A large crash of metal from his left caught Jack's attention, and he saw Alix storing her halberd again after having cut a torch down from the wall. She sprinted back to them, standing to the opposite side of the hole. "Sorry, that was a struggle. Matt, watch yourself!"

She tossed the torch down the gap before returning to keep Mark steady. Matt watched as it fell, eyes lighting in relief as he saw it land another few metres below him: and it was a corridor. "Yes! This is it!" The others whooped in joy. "It's too far to jump though, you'll need to pull me back up."

Mark managed to jump look over his shoulder at the other two. "Think you two could pull both of us?"

They shared a look before Jack answered. "We could try, but this floor really isn't the easiest to get a grip on. It might be easier if Matt tries to haul himself up with your help and we'll grab him from the edge. What do you think Matt?"

Matt nodded at Mark. "Let's go with it. Hang on tight, guys!"

Mark sucked in a breath as Alix and Jack both anchored themselves as best they could. The half-Korean's stomach dropped as he saw Matt's face morph into shock. "Matt?" he asked in concern.

The older man tried shaking his left leg but couldn't. "Something's got my leg."

Before Mark could ask any more, it was taken out of his hands.

Matt screamed as he felt his leg being pulled sharply, Mark barely able to keep a hold of him. "Matt! Shit!"

Jack and Alix felt themselves being pulled too. Realising something was very wrong, they moved up Mark's body towards the hole, Alix leaning fully on Mark's back to keep him in place as Jack moved to lay alongside him. As he leant over he could instantly see the pain on Matt's face. "Matt, grab on!" he shouted while holding out his hands. Matt managed to sift his left hand over to Jack's, allowing Mark and Jack to double up their grips. Alix shifted so that she was laying over both of their backs, keeping them stable.

Another sharp pull almost hauled all four of them in. "Fuck! What is _happening?!_ " Mark exclaimed, fighting to keep a hold of Matt. Then both he and Jack could see it: a black shadowy tendril was snaking its way up Matt's body, slowly grabbing a firmer grasp of him with each passing second. " _Shit!"_ Matt started choking as it coiled around his neck, constricting tightly. With Matt struggling to breathe, his grip began to slip. " _No! Fucking dammit! **Leave him alone, you son of a bitch!** "_

Jack and Mark held as tightly as they could, but it was no use. As Matt began to lose more strength and his grip became fainter, it was only a matter of time. The others shouted Matt's name as he was wrenched away from them into the darkness below, Mark holding out his hand in disbelief at seeing him stolen away. Alix could feel the ground beneath them was beginning to crumble and shrieked at them. "Guys we need to move!"

The trio scrambled to their feet, throwing themselves to safety as another couple of feet of floor vanished. They stayed motionless on the floor for a few seconds before they heard a clinking on a nearby wall. All of their attention turned to the change in their scenery and Mark's eyes hardened when he realised it.

Jack and Alix watched as he got back to his feet and marched over to the mirror on the wall. "Mark?" Jack asked before pushing himself upright, Alix right behind him.

Mark didn't answer Jack, instead glaring at the image slowly coming into view in the reflective surface. He could see Dark sauntering over with a smirk on his face, the expression growing as he saw Mark's fury. Alix gasped from behind him as she saw Dark inside the glass. "Why?" Mark demanded.

Dark glanced at Jack and Alix before staring confidently at Mark. " ** _Do you not remember what I said before, Mark? Hostages are a valuable asset."_**

A snarl came back at the shadow. "Leave them out of this, Dark, or whatever the fuck you are!" Mark exclaimed back at him. "I know you aren't Darkiplier, you're just imitating him to get inside my fucking head! I'm the one you want, I'm the one you've been trying to fuck with this whole time! Let the others go!"

Mocking laughter came back at him. **_"Oh Mark, were it that simple. This is so much bigger than just you and me. And are you_** _really **sure that I'm not your dark side? I seem to be a very good imitation if that were the case."**_ Dark scoffed. **_"Besides, I don't want to deal with a pissed off glitch. I promised him Jack in return for his help, and I don't care to face the headache he would give me."_**

Jack jumped in. "Like fuck am I going to give myself to that _thing_! Dream on, you bastard!"

Dark turned to stare at him. **_"And were I to say I knew the way to give your new friend a way out? You surrender to Anti, I'll give Alix life again. Does that not sound like a fair trade?"_**

That caused Jack to freeze. "I-"

Alix snapped at the creature, enraged. "Like hell that would work, you sick fuck! I know I'm trapped in here forever now, Damien saw to that! Try again!"

Dark eyed her critically. **_"Are you so sure, Alix? All you know of the situation is what Damien spoke to these three when they first entered. Are you so sure your body isn't simply lying comatose somewhere, ready for your mind to return?"_**

She paused, doubt suddenly filling her mind at the possibility Dark was presenting. "No…it can't be. It's been over a year…"

" ** _People can lie comatose for years. Can you really be so sure that you are trapped here?"_**

"Leave them alone!" Mark snarled. "I've had it with this bullshit! Just _why?! Why do all this?!"_

A cruel smile was his answer. **_"If you want to know the answers so badly, come to me. I've made my play, I have your friend. It's your move, Mark. Choose carefully."_**

The mirror swiftly shattered, causing Jack and Alix to jump. Mark glared at the broken glass for a few more seconds before he turned to his companions, seeing the slightly shell-shocked look on each of their faces. They all shared a look for several seconds before Alix spoke unsteadily, echoing all of their thoughts.

"What do we do now?"


	14. Sins Of The Past

The three stood in silence, no-one really having an answer to Alix's question. None of them had the faintest idea what to do, and Dark had suitably shaken all three of them. His parting words to each of them rang through their heads, and it was messing with them. Badly.

Alix was unsure what to do with the possibility of her having a future again. She was scared to hope, having given up long ago. If the opportunity did exist, what price was she willing to pay for it?

Jack was warring with himself on whether there was any bargain Anti could make in which he _would_ give himself up – and what that would mean. He was weighing up his own worth versus that of those he stood with. If it meant saving Matt, would he do it? If there _was_ a way for Alix to return to the outside world, was that a worthwhile price?

Mark was furious at himself: furious that he'd lost Matt to Dark. Furious that he'd not been more prepared for the trap. Furious that he couldn't work out the mystery behind the creature masquerading as a warped version of himself. Something just _wasn't_ adding up, and not being able to understand it was killing him inside. Now it had taken Matt, purely because he had been in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"I guess maybe a better question is - what _can_ we do?" volunteered Jack, earning questioning looks from the other two. "Let's be honest here. Anti and Dark have us in a corner. They've got Matt as a hostage and I don't think the same surprise tactics are going to work on them again. We might know how to fight Anti to a degree, but we've got no defence whatsoever to Dark's shadow attacks. I can stop him, but we can't fight back."

Alix sighed in aggravation. "I've seen Dark strike at Glaysha for months but I still feel like I don't know _anything_ about him. It's like he's completely changed since you guys came here. And I just don't understand why."

Mark let out a long breath before answering. "It's because there is a piece of this puzzle we are missing. Dark said it himself, there is something much bigger going on here than just me and him, and I am now sure it has to do with Damien. He knows more than he's letting on and we need to confront him about it."

Jack looked at him strangely. "Mark, what are you suggesting?"

"Dark is using Matt as leverage. Let's spring his trap."

"Are you sure, Mark?" Alix asked him seriously. "You heard what they said in Glaysha, it's fair game on Matt. If they feel threatened, they may just kill him."

"They took him on purpose, they'll keep him alive unless they feel we have the upper hand. They want a fight, so let's give it to them."

The other two thought about this for a couple of seconds, trying to get their racing thoughts under control. It took some soul searching to realise what their limits were going to be before nodding. "Okay, let's do it," agreed Jack, somewhat reluctantly. "We need a plan though, we can't take them head-on."

After a couple of seconds' thought, Mark's eyes lit up in inspiration. "Wait a minute. Maybe we can."

* * *

 

Using Jack's powers in tandem, they managed to work out the way forward. He first destroyed enough of the floor of the tomb to expose the passageway, then used his light shield in a new way to see where it connected to their area. Alix and Mark were both impressed by his idea and began to factor that into their plan when they reached the Ancient Castle. It was going to take a combined effort by all of them to have the slightest chance of saving Matt and escaping.

They had come to the conclusion that Anti and Dark knew exactly why they were heading to the castle: they would be guarding the Overseer's Staff. The thought crossed their minds that Damien had made that their exit condition to bring about a final confrontation. As they journeyed through the underground passage they kept all of their guards up, not wanting to give either of the sadistic pair hunting them an easy opportunity.

Mark knew they wouldn't be there. They were waiting on the stage of their setting, holding all the cards. Or so they thought.

The trio emerged inside the castle after an hour's walk, and both Jack and Alix had to stop themselves jumping at their own shadows. Despite Mark's warnings about what they would find within, they still weren't braced for the unnerving nature of the castle. What really didn't help their cause was when several waves of skeletons, wolves and other hybrid creatures that the programming team had created for Glaysha swarmed on them barely ten minutes after they had arrived. It had been a vicious fight and though none of them had been left critically injured, it had caused them to eat through their supplies at a rate.

Jack had been forced to use six of his stamina serums, at which Mark gave him the same number back to replenish his inventory. Mark and Alix had used five blue health serums and one red one when a wolf had managed to clamp onto Alix's right arm, leaving it severely lacerated. Jack helped restore their own inventories with his own supply, but they soon realised Dark's plan. It was no co-incidence that they were being faced with more enemies than any of them had seen at once as they approached. He was trying to run them out of supplies. They couldn't afford to hang around; they were going to be at enough of a disadvantage as it was.

It didn't take Mark long to realise that Dark was leaving them a path. Mirrors lined a set route through the multitude of corridors, each showing Dark's smirking face when Mark looked for a reflection. He still didn't get the shadow's affection for the reflective surfaces, but he couldn't dispute the creep factor. Seeing the dark, twisted version of himself in the mirror every time he looked for his own reflection was more than a little unsettling. It struck just that little too close to home. Following Mark's lead, the trio marched through the castle, doing their best to avoid any more scuffles along the way. They managed to dodge a few ambushes thanks to Alix's illusions drawing the attention away from them. There was one which they couldn't evade entirely, but some tactical use of their smoke bombs helped them make a quick escape.

As they emerged on the fourth floor of the castle, they could hear Anti's laughter up ahead. All of them tensed, knowing what was waiting for them. Mark turned to Jack and Alix, giving them each a nervous smile. "All right, this is it. I know this is probably going to be one of the hardest things we ever do, but we _can_ do this. We've got a plan, and we're all crazy enough to try and pull it off." Alix giggled at this while Jack smiled. Mark's smile became more genuine and he turned to focus on Jack. "Sean, remember what we said. No heroics."

Jack chuckled. "That goes for you too, Mark. I'm not the only one with little-to-no consideration for their own safety." Mark laughed softly and Alix bit her lip to try and stop herself joining in. Jack's gaze swept over both of them. "In fact, it applies to all three of us." He stopped to stare at Alix intently. "No suicide moves, Alix. You're making it to the end with us, you hear me?"

She gave a small nod and saluted as she smiled. "Aye-aye, skip!" she chirped in a mock military voice. Jack and Mark both laughed at her attempt at humour, delighted to see more of her personality shine through. They were glad to have her standing beside them, as well as feeling slightly humbled. Not everyone would have the courage to face an enemy like this, especially after all she had been through inside the Dreamscape.

After a moment of decision, Mark and Jack both embraced her in a hug, and she gripped back happily. Whatever lay ahead, they were ready to face it together. Mark was the first to pull away, looking at his companions seriously. "We ready for this?" He got two strong nods back.

Eyes steeled in determination, Mark turned to stare down the corridor intently. "Let's do this."

* * *

 

The end of the passage brought them to a massive stone arch, beyond which lay a large chamber. Or at least, what was left of it. Much of the back wall and part of the floor connected to it had crumbled under the ferocity of the storms around the castle, and the whole area was lit in a sickly purple glow. It didn't take long to realise the source: instead of normal flames, all of the torches were lit by Dark's shadow fire. When the trio emerged through the arch, they could spy their targets about fifteen metres away. All four of them.

Upon an altar at the far end of the room they could see Anti sitting with his legs crossed, twirling the Overseer's Staff in his left hand. His demented smirk was still in place and grew at seeing the company arrive. In front of him they could see Dark standing confidently, arms crossed and a smug grin on his face. Mark, Jack and Alix all paused as they took stock of the scene, and their eyes all raised when they caught sight of swirling shadows behind Anti. Alix's voice died in her throat as Mark and Jack both froze on the spot at seeing what lay there.

Matt was suspended several feet in the air in a crucifix position, arms and legs immobilised by shadow tendrils locking him in place. His eyes were closed, his head was bowed in front of him and his skin was almost white, black pulsing veins spreading across his skin. They could see many smaller tendrils were almost… _absorbed_ into his skin, none more obvious than one large vine which appeared to have dove straight into his stomach. Shadows poured out from all the puncture points and the others fought hard to keep their stomach contents down. Mark was having the hardest time out of all three of them, knowing Dark had done this to lure _him_ out.

_God, Matt. What has he done to you?_

The three of them soon advanced, Mark and Jack either side of Alix, who kept a pace or two behind them. Dark and Anti watched in glee as the trio came closer, knowing their game was coming to an end. As they got closer, all three of them saw something they hadn't noticed before. Matt had been deliberately positioned so far back that he was above the broken floor – and they all knew just how far the drop was. If he was let go, there would be no chance of survival. That was going to be a big problem.

A desperate idea came to Jack's head and he leant over and whispered in into Mark's ear, the older man pulling away to look at him in complete disbelief. Jack spoke softly to him again. "Well, there's no reason to think it won't work in reverse." Knowing it was the only thing which could factor into their plan, he nodded at the Irishman and turned back to Alix. He repeated the instructions to her and she nodded in acknowledgement. They then turned their attention back to their foes standing before them, coming to a stop about six metres away.

Anti put the staff down back on the altar behind him and Dark chuckled. " ** _It took you all long enough,"_** the shadow spoke impatiently, his anticipation showing for the first time. **_"And here I thought you had decided to forsake Matt for the length of time you took."_**

Jack swore back Dark. "Not on your fucking life! Your minions just slowed us down is all!"

The glitch laughed at Jack's response. "Oh Jack-a-boy…if they proved to be a challenge, then you don't have the slightest fucking _chance_ against us!"

Mark took another couple of steps forward, glaring at Dark as the shadow smirked at him. "All right, you've got us here. You've got Matt as a hostage, and we can't fight you on any sort of level playing field. The bit I don't get about this is…why? Why do all this? What purpose does Damien have for you taking on the guise of Darkiplier to get to _me_?" His voice rose in volume as his pitch become more demanding. "What have I done to him, to deserve all this? For my _friends_ to be dragged into a living nightmare with me? For him to willing sacrifice an _innocent person_ in here? Tell me, Dark. What is really going on here?"

A few seconds passed before Dark started to laugh, quietly at first before growing into a full belly laugh. **_"Oh Mark, what a speech. Is that why you took so long to get here, to come up with that? It was certainly poetic, I will give you that much."_** Mark's glare turned a couple of shades icier as the shadow regained his composure. **_"Well, I suppose you have come this far. And to see the look on your face as I finally end this after so long…it will bring me great delight."_**

The half-Korean snapped back at him. "Bring _what_ to an end? What the _fuck_ is this all about?"

Dark sauntered towards Mark, causing Jack to instinctively charge his lightning in his palm. Anti mirrored the move, giving Jack pause. "Not so fast, princess," mocked the glitch. "Dark doesn't like to get fried, but I think your little friend will like it even less. And if he tastes _my_ lightning, I will make sure you _can't_ fix him with your little potions. So, be a good little boy and listen to Daddy's story. I think you'llfind this interesting too."

After sharing a look with Alix behind him and receiving a nod he stood down. Before he spun back however he cast his eyes upwards subtly, spying the figure creeping along the wooden beams stabilising the high roof of the chamber. Not lingering too long, he turned his attention back to the illusion on the floor and got a wink from her. Satisfied that Alix was well on her way to executing her phase of their plan, he turned back the confrontation before him. He may not be able to attack, but he could certainly defend Mark if he needed to.

Mark fought hard not to flinch as Dark came to a stop only two metres away from him. He _really_ didn't like having the shadow creature so near to him, especially when it seemed so confident. Dark's smirk vanished, changing to a neutral and disinterested mask. **_"Let's cast our minds back, shall we. Tell me Mark, your whole 'Darkiplier' persona, that was something that your fans came up with, wasn't it? But what started that whole thing?"_**

It took a few seconds for Mark to answer. "It's been so long ago that I don't really remember why I started it. I just thought it would be a good idea."

Dark hummed in thought. **_"And then as time went on, you started having dreams, didn't you? Flashes in your sleep of 'Darkiplier'. They gave you ideas and you played off them. Over time it grew until you decided to give 'Darkiplier' an origin, and explanation of how he came into being. You then expanded it to give birth to the rise of another one of your_** _beloved **characters. Wilford Warfstache I believe he became. Correct me if I am wrong, but that came to you in a sequence of dreams, did it not? Vivid ones I imagine."**_

Mark looked at him in complete confusion. "What are you _getting_ at here?"

The shadow scoffed. **_"It was all so crystal clear in your mind when you woke up. How it happened, the story behind it. Everything was just like a book…and you brought it to life. You could see every scene in your head as though you were there."_** Its face turned to fury and Mark took half a step back. **_"That is because it was not just a_** _story, **or a sketch or whatever the hell you made it. What you portrayed…that, was real."**_

Alix jumped in. "The hell are you talking about?"

Dark smirked at her. **_"Forgive me, Alix. I forget that you have been trapped in this world for so long that you are unaware of many events. Rewind to 2017, one year ago, and Mark released a series of videos for his fans. They were titled '_** _Who Killed Markiplier' **. It was a grand tale of murder, mystery and betrayal. The titular 'Mark' was somewhat of a scandalous character, fallen prey to a murderer within his very home! His 'friends' began to investigate, but no answers were to be found. They turned to the mystical arts for the solution as to who the killer was, all the while exposing all the fractures and lies which surrounded the little group.**_

" ** _In the end, 'Mark' escaped death due to the help of a dark entity which was trapped inside the manor, instead condemning his ex-wife and best friend to die in his place. Knowing they had been betrayed, they sought the help of another unfortunate soul who had died in the events which followed. Offering them the chance of life again, the threesome returned in that one body. But the combination of so many enraged souls in one vessel twisted them, creating 'Darkiplier', hell bent on revenge against 'Mark' for having ended their lives so prematurely."_**

Dark's smile turned knowing as he began to see Mark pale, making so many impossible connections in his head. **_"Tell me, Mark. What was the name of the person that 'Mark' possessed to find freedom again?"_**

Mark shook his head as his mind swam. _It's not possible. It was just a fantasy! A dream!_ "You're fucking lying."

Anti laughed insanely. "Seeing you deny the truth is so entertaining." The glitch's attention flipped to Jack, who too had gone white. Jack knew exactly what connection Dark was angling at. "Go on then, Jack-a-boy. What was the name of the one Mark betrayed?"

Jack gulped before speaking the word, the undertones of it sending chills through his body. "Damien."

Alix looked between all four of them in disbelief. The shadow's expression turned back to one of neutrality, though no-one missed the hatred in its voice. **_"Your 'dreams' Mark, were my_** _memories **. Mark was my twin brother, and I loved him dearly. But, his greatest fault was that he never appreciated anything in his life, not even me. When Celine left him in desperation to get away, I guided her. While the Colonel was a figment you added to your 'production', I was the one who truly sheltered her. He tormented her, used her! It tore at my heart to hide something like that from him, but he was a monster to her."**_ Dark turned away, wandering away from the group.

" ** _And then…he learned of my role in it. Under the guise of trying to make amends, he invited Celine back to their home. Fearing what he may do, she begged me to join her. I did so, unknowing it was exactly what Mark hoped for. Celine and Mark both practiced mystical arts, I distanced myself from it after a time: fearing the power it could bring about. We spoke, Celine and I agreed to stay the night after the weather turned._**

" ** _That night, Mark was killed. Days first, then weeks passed. After much suspicion was aimed at us, Celine desperately tried to communicate with Mark in the realm beyond, hoping he could point us in the direction his killer. I was there for moral support."_** His voice turned softer, something none of them expected. **_"How I wish I had hardened my heart as I wanted to, let go of my lasting sentimentality of him. After all he had done, it was exactly what he deserved. But…being identical twins, some things run too deep. I wanted to know who killed my brother too."_**

Dark spun back to the them, his eyes now completely shadowed over. Mark did take a step back at this. **_"The moment she made the connection I knew something was wrong. She was distressed, crying out for help. I used my meagre talents to try and assist her, but_** _he **was waiting. He crippled Celine, fatally wounding her body and leaving her mind trapped before overpowering me. I will never forget the sickening look on his face as he left me to die in that dimension…Mark stole my body, intending on leaving me stranded in the nothingness."**_ Shadows began to flare around him. **_"With the last of her power, Celine tried to send me back before Mark could gain control of my body. It didn't work, and he swatted me away like a fly. I was stuck between the realms, wandering lost. In a place where time was meaningless, I was left to fester. Confusion turned to anger. Anger turned to bloodlust. And with that bloodlust…I found the power he had acquired."_**

" ** _I crossed back to this world as a spectre, searching for him. I wanted to make him suffer as he had me…but I never found him. He died an old man, living a masquerade within_** _my **body. Living** my **stolen life! The need for revenge burned inside me, and I soon realised I had an opportunity yet. Souls do not leave this world for long, and all I had to do was wait for him to return."**_ His face relaxed, the rage it contained vanishing for the time being. **_"And here you are, Mark."_**

Mark shook his head in denial as the shadow continued. **_"Time rendered my powers inert, however. Oh, believe me, I tried possessing you, Mark. It was how you saw into my mind and saw how I came to become what I am now. My treacherous brother left safeguards, however, no doubt fearing that I would search for him beyond his own lifetime. After several failed attempts I realised I needed another plan…"_** Dark turned its attention to Alix, smiling at her nastily.

" ** _And that was where you came in, my dear. I stumbled across your little project purely by chance. You were looking for a benefactor to kickstart your project, but no-one would take the gamble. Seeing my perfect opportunity in the world you were looking to create, I possessed some fool, assimilating myself into his life."_** Alix's eyes widened in horror. **_"Of course, it took time. But your brilliance meant it was completed far sooner than I thought possible. And then…your magnificence became your downfall_** _. **I had used some of my limited power to extend the influence of this place, make it more real."**_

He smirked at her. ** _"You realised the world was_** _too **perfect, too** alive. **I couldn't risk you uncovering the truth, so I seized upon another opportunity. I could test just how deadly and diverse this place was without showing my hand too early. Refine it if I needed to. What I did not count on was that same brilliance which brought my revenge all the closer meant you slipped under my radar. The 'Dark' which you fought for months was nothing more than a program, written by one of your team under my secret orders. When I entered this place at long last, I simply adopted the persona."**_

Dark spun back to Mark, seeing his whole body on the verge of shaking. It smirked: his reaction was everything he had hoped for. **_"I finally had my opportunity for revenge against my brother, 89 long years after he died in_** _my **body. 172 years after he tore** everything **away from me! And just as he did to me before, I was determined to make him pay by seeing the life he treasured ripped out from under him! Unfortunately, only two of those closest to you took the bait…but the** one **I wanted more than any is here. With Jack, I could give birth to Anti, and torture you even more!"**_ Anti stood and bowed at the announcement of his name, causing Dark to chuckle. **_"And he's even more demented than I hoped for."_**

The glitch sniggered as he returned to his full height. "I do try. After having been restrained within Jack's mind for so long, I'm enjoying to opportunity to do what _I_ want."

Fighting through the sickening feeling in his stomach at all the revelations, Jack quickly glanced upwards and saw the real Alix all but frozen in the rafters. He could only imagine what was spinning through her mind at that moment, but they _needed_ her to focus. She could only keep up her illusion for so much longer before they were exposed. He sprinted to stand beside Mark and snapped at Anti. "Fuck you! You'll never get out of this place, you psychotic bastard!"

Anti smirked and pointed at Mark. "You so sure about that, princess? Looks like you're another person down."

Jack turned to look at Mark, his stomach dropping at the lost and utterly _helpless_ look on his face. "Mark-"

"This isn't real," Mark whispered, putting his hands on his head as he shook it violently. "This is all just some sick and twisted scheme to get inside my head!"

Dark smiled in triumph. **_"Of course it is, Mark. This whole place has been designed to break you apart, one small piece at a time. And now, the stage is set for my final vengeance."_**

The shadow stepped back, bringing pillars of black fire to life at each of his sides, causing everyone before him to recoil. **_"You asked why I was given the guise of 'Darkiplier'? It is because I am him!_**

" ** _You asked what you had done to Damien to warrant him seeking revenge? You now know what you did to_** _me **almost two centuries ago!**_

" ** _Why did I bring your friends in here along with you? It is so you can watch them die before I destroy you!_** "

Purple flashes reflected in its eyes before they shimmered back to emptiness. **_"I am Damien Villaire, what you came to christen as 'Darkiplier'. I am your worst nightmare, and I will finally end this. Once. And. For. All."_**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I will now admit that this has been inspired by Who Killed Markiplier? The idea just bit me, I couldn't help it!


	15. The Best Laid Plans

Mark could feel his mind numbing at everything he had been told. The thoughts tumbled through his head, the weight of those revelations hauling his already fragile psyche further apart. It just _couldn't_ be real.

_Except, Dark was right about everything. The dreams, the story…all of it he got spot on. There's no way he could know all of that, unless…Oh_ **_fuck_ ** _, he's telling the truth, isn't he? But how the- Why the fuck does he want_ **_me? I_ ** _didn't do all that shit to him. Does this mean I'm a…re-incarnation of his dead brother? This is_ **_so_ ** _fucking messed up. Damien really did do all of this to hurt me, this is all for revenge. Alix lost_ **_everything_ ** _because of him, and he purposely brought Sean and Matt in here to hurt me even more. This is-It's too much. How the fuck do I_ **_stop this_ ** _?!_

Jack watched Mark's eyes dart around frantically, could see the madness descending across his face. This was _bad_. He glanced back across at Dark and Anti, and his stomach dropped at what he found. Dark was still poised with his flame pillars ready to strike on either side of him, eyes locked on Mark's ailing frame. Anti was smirking a few steps behind him, flipping his signature knife in his right hand. Jack dared not look up right now, else he would give away Alix's position. He instead spun to look to behind Mark and could see the illusion staring right at him. Her eyes were serious, focused on him as she nodded once determinedly. A few flashes of anger and hatred could be seen in her face, but Jack soon saw her lips moving. No sound came out, but he didn't need to hear to understand her message.

**Help Mark.**

Picking up on Alix's unspoken message that she was ready to fight, he turned his attention back to Mark. Jack pulled Mark's hands away from his head and sharply spun the other man to face him. "Mark!" he shouted, shaking his shoulders violently. "You've got to snap out of it, dude!" Mark's eyes snapped up to meet his, but Jack could see he was struggling to focus. "This is what he wants, Mark! He wants to see you suffer! This isn't your fault, Mark; no matter what he says, you did _nothing_ ** _._** Even if what he says is true, you have done fuck all wrong. All you share with his brother is a name and a resemblance, _you_ didn't make him into _this_.

"Mark, we need you to get out of here, man. Don't quit on us now!"

Jack's impassioned plea helped cut through the fog which had descended on Mark's mind and helped bring him some clarity. The Irishman was right, this was exactly what Damien wanted. And he needed to not worry about anything the shadow had said right now. _Get out of the Dreamscape first, work on fixing everything later._ Mark's eyes cleared and settled on Jack, and he raised the hand which the dark psychopaths couldn't see to rest on Jack's own, which was still on his shoulder. The younger man looked at him in surprise and Mark whispered to him lowly, hoping the other two wouldn't hear. "Thanks, Sean. I needed that. You ready to take these sons of bitches down?"

A small nod was his answer. "Let's kick some arse."

Mark squeezed the back of Jack's hand briefly before taking a step back from him. He then turned to glare at Dark. "So…what should I even call you, then?" Mark asked coldly. "What do you go by now?"

The shadow smirked at him. ** _"I may have lost my body, but my name is still my own. As amusing as it is being called your dark side, I would rather have_** _no_ ** _assosciation to you."_**

"All right then, Damien. I guess the question becomes…what now?"

Anti laughed. "And here I was thinking you'd be a crumbling mess in the corner. Seems stubbornness is a trait you and Jack-a-boy share a little too much," he sneered. "As for the what now…wouldn't you love to know." His smile turned even more sinister. "Hey Damien, why don't we make this interesting? Let's make a bet on who's going to die first. I shotgun our lovely hostage behind us."

Damien rolled his eyes at the glitch's antics and snuffed out his fire pillars. " ** _Fine, if we_** _must_ ** _. I guess that leaves me with the remnant, then._** " The shadow glared at the figure he could see between Jack and Mark briefly. Before anyone could even think of moving, Damien turned his wrist in mid-air and a new pillar of black flames roared to life behind the two Youtubers. They both stumbled away from each other as they backed away from the intense heat and momentarily froze. Seeing Damien's power this close was frightening. They were both glad Mark had thought of splitting Alix apart from them before entering the chamber. Had she been standing there and not her illusion, there would have been no surviving it.

Seeing an opportunity, Mark drew his shield and sword. High above in the rafters, Alix saw her signal and pounced. Not expecting an attack from above, Anti did not spy Alix until it was too late. The glitch screamed in fury as the bladed end of her halberd plunged straight into his chest. He teleported away, but his shout caught Damien's attention. His fire pillar collapsed without the shadow's concentration and the two Youtubers charged into the fray. Mark threw himself at Damien, hurtling in with his shield raised before swinging his sword downwards. Snarling in frustration, the shadow vanished into a puddle in the floor.

In doing so, the shadow vines keeping Matt suspended went with him.

Jack, prepared for such an event, cast out his shield. He set it beneath Matt, but flipped it around so that the older man would land on the reflective side, hoping the shield's repellent nature would keep him from plunging to the depths below. It worked, and Matt came to a halt on the platform of light Jack had created. "Alix, go!" he shouted through gritted teeth, the strain already telling in his voice.

Alix dashed towards the opposite end of the room, skidding to a brief halt before she took her first tentative step on Jack's shield. She didn't want to add any more force than she had to and moved as slowly as she dared. Jack could feel her presence on his barrier and hissed as the tightening in his gut increased. He couldn't keep this up for long. "Hurry!" Just as he screamed at her, he could see movement out of the corner of his eye.

Anti appeared on Jack's left, about ten feet away, and fired lightning straight at him. Jack shut his eyes as he braced for the impact; he couldn't cast two shields at once, and he just had to pray he stayed conscious long enough for Alix to get Matt to safety. Salvation arrived in the form of Mark, who slid to a halt just in front of Jack and allowed his shield to take the blow. Anti watched in rage as the attack did nothing. " _What?!"_ the gltich snarled as Mark lowered his shield to smirk at him.

"Didn't expect that, did you, asshole?" Mark sneered before charging at the glitch. Anti teleported away again and Mark quickly jumped back, knowing Jack needed the protection. He looked over and saw Alix had reached Matt. She soon realised he was in fact semi-conscious and hauled him upwards, swinging his arm across her shoulders as she pulled him up by the waist. Matt was aware enough to follow her lead and Alix threw them both off the platform when they got close to the edge. Mark and Jack sighed in relief and Jack lowered his shield, ready to concentrate on what was coming at them next.

Despite having both of them prepared, they couldn't stop the next assault. Damien reappeared behind them as Anti teleported into the centre of the room. Mark swore as he realised the pair were at 180 degrees from each other and pulled at Jack's arm, setting them as best he could. Anti fired another burst of lightning and Mark raised his shield, wincing at the sheer force of the attack as it seemed to go on and on. As much as he knew he could use the help, Jack had a much bigger problem. Damien had fired a stream of black fire at the Irishman and Jack raised his light shield to hold it back, but he soon realised he was trapped. The fire was _intense,_ and Jack hadn't managed to recharge. If he didn't bring the shield down himself soon, it was going to break.

Knowing he had no choice, Jack dropped his magic and grabbed Mark, forcing him to the ground. The pair lay flat along the ground as Mark swung his shield above them. Both Anti's and Damien's attacks collided in mid-air, causing a small explosion. The resulting shockwave winded both Jack and Mark beneath it, while Anti and Damien shifted away. Not wasting any time, Jack injected himself with some stamina before they got back to their feet, knowing their respite wouldn't last long. They tried to glance over at Alix and Matt during the lull, but Mark soon caught movement in his peripheral vision. A glint of metal.

Realising who Anti was targeting, he shoved Jack away before raising his sword, the bladed weapons clashing in a sharp ring of metal. Jack stumbled and was about to throw a smoke bomb at Anti as he regained his footing before he saw Damien appear behind the duelling pair. He was ready to cast a shield in defence of Mark, but the shadow snapped its fingers. Jack watched in confusion as nothing apparently happened, but soon felt movement beneath his feet. A scream escaped him as he barely managed to raise his shield in time. And then he felt it. The constriction around his chest, stealing all the breath in his body. As much as the shadow vines may be wrapped around his light barrier, it felt as if they were ensnaring his physical body. Jack breathed heavily as he tried to reach for his inventory, but soon realised he couldn't do it under the strain. Damien had him completely pinned down, and he could only watch as Mark battled with Anti.

Mark heard Jack's scream and his breath caught at seeing the vines wrapped tightly around a ball of light. He wanted desperately to help his friend but the glitch which was currently trying to stab him in the chest was causing him a lot of problems. Mark parried away Anti's swings and jabs as best he could, but he knew he had to strike back. Anti was a lot faster than him, and it was only a matter of time before he slipped up. When Mark saw Anti take a step back to go for a sweeping blow, he swung out wildly with his shield, hoping to force the glitch back before following it with a sharp stab of his sword. Mark looked around in confusion when he saw he'd hit nothing but air, the glitch nowhere to be see.

But Jack could see him. _"Mark!"_

Jack's desperate cry came too late and Mark cried in agony as he felt a cold burn seep its way through his back, and then into his stomach. A second scream was torn from his throat as he felt the same pain lance through his left arm, and he looked down to see two knives protruding from his body: one from his back through his abdomen, and the other straight through his left forearm. A shiver ran down his spine as he felt the whisper on the back of his neck. "Well, you can't use any of your fancy potions without your left arm, can you?" Anti sniggered.

Mark's blood ran cold as the implication sank in. The knife sticking through his left arm was coated red in blood, the gauntlet which signified his inventory now dull and useless. Anti had targeted Mark's inventory so that the half-Korean couldn't heal himself. Both knives were pulled out savagely and Mark gasped as Anti shoved him aside. Jack screamed Mark's name as he saw his friend crash into the ground on his back, watching as Mark struggled with the pain. Anti's smirk grew as he sauntered over to Damien, the shadow still holding Jack in place. The glitch came up beside him and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "Got a present for you, Damien. Didn't quite manage to gift-wrap him, but I think you'll like the decorating touches of his two new punctures!" Damien gave him a cool stare as Anti continued. "I'm a psychopath, but I know how to handle my knives, asshole. That stab won't finish him, its just rendered him useless."

The glitch's smile turned sinister as he turned to focus on Jack. "After all, didn't you say you wanted him alive to watch?" he finished intently. Jack's gaze fell from the dark duo to Mark on the floor, his friend having managed to turn onto his side. Mark's left arm lay uselessly on the floor as he used his right hand to cover his abdominal wound. Not that it would really do Mark any good.

Mark's eyes raised to meet Jack's, but Damien's voice soon caught their attention. " ** _Well, well. I didn't know you were so kind, Anti,_** " Damien drawled sarcastically. A small smile came to his face as he turned to look at Mark. " ** _You've held your end of the bargain_**." Mark's heart clenched as he heard Jack scream breifly, Damien having just tightened his tendrils around Jack's barrier. " ** _Enjoy your prize,"_** he sneered before wandering over to Mark. He made sure Mark was watching as he clenched even tighter on Jack's shield, causing the Irishman's head to spin from the strain.

Mark coughed as he tried to drag in enough breath to speak. "Damien, let them go," he begged as the shadow raised an eyebrow at him. "You want me, and you've got me. You've won! Let Sean, Matt and Alix go, please!" Mark spluttered up blood as he finished, his head swimming from the blood loss.

Damien crouched to meet Mark's level, staring at him triumphantly. **_"Oh Mark…were it that simple,"_** he chuckled. **_"If killing you was all I wanted, I could have done it so many ways by now. No…I want you to watch, helpless – just as I was – and see the life that you love stolen away from you. And we can start with this."_** Damien smirked as he stood again, clenching his fist tight and causing Jack to scream in agony. Jack crumpled to his knees, barely hanging on as he saw Anti standing over his shield, circling him like a vulture. **_"Anti."_** The glitch turned to give Damien an unimpressed look, clearly having had enough of waiting. **_"Make sure he suffers."_**

Anti's frown flipped into a gleeful smile. "Oh don't you worry, Damien. I'm going to _adore_ making Jack-a-boy beg for the end." Anti spun back to Jack, laughing maniacally. "Now, hurry the fuck _up!"_

Mark locked eyes with Jack as Damien smiled briefly before locking his vines together viciously, intent on crushing Jack. The Irishman all but passed out under the strain, and he knew he was stuck in a no-win situation. Whether he dropped his shield willingly or not, they had him. "I'm sorry, Mark…" Jack managed to whisper before his final energy failed him, his barrier falling with it.

Anti laughed in triumph before shifting into a data stream, and then hurtled straight into Jack's forehead.

Mark watched in horror as Jack began screaming in agony, clutching his head as his eyes clamped shut. Electricity crackled all around him as the pair began fighting for control of Jack's body. The screeches which left Jack bordered on inhuman and Mark's heart clenched in pure fear. Was this really going to be the end of Jack?

A whistle pierced through the air and Damien snarled as an arrow lodged itself into the shadow's back, quickly followed by another. Damien roared in anger before summoning a shadow spear, hurtling it to the other end of the room. Mark stared in disbelief as he saw the impossible happening: Matt was awake and fighting. The spear impaled a broken pillar as Matt dove for cover. The next Mark knew, a swirl of purple and white was surrounding Damien as Alix's many illusions descended on him, but the programmer herself was stood far away. She split her halberd in half and launched the axe end at Damien, the shadow left with little choice but to melt away into a puddle as it came careening towards his head.

Alix and Matt both emerged and looked on in shock at seeing what lay before them. Jack was shuddering in kneeling position, screaming in pure pain as Mark lay on his side, barely conscious and watching helplessly. They dashed towards Mark, Matt pulling out a red healing serum as Alix retrieved a stamina boost. It took several seconds before they could see any change in Mark's condition, and Alix gasped at seeing Mark's left arm. "Shit, this is bad-" She abruptly stopped as Jack's scream changed pitch, both Matt and Alix turning to stare at him. As the seconds ticked by the electricity surrounding him flickered between blue and green, and they watched in concern. The energy soon collided with the ground not far from them and they pulled Mark backwards, out of range.

Unbeknwonst to them, Damien watched in the distance, eager to see the first part of his plan come to fruition.

Time moved by at a crawl as they all watched the internal struggle between Jack and Anti, the tension thick as they waited to see who was going to come out on top. Mark had slowly come back to his senses, all his injuries courtesy of the psychotic glitch healed, and he struggled up to his knees. He clapped a hand on Matt's back, catching his attention before crushing him in a tight hug. Matt grasped back tightly for a second before pulling back, directing Mark's attention to their situation concerning Jack. Everyone stared for what felt like an eternity before the screaming eventually came to a halt, and the energy surrounding Jack stopped abruptly.

One last bolt of lightning was expelled from Jack's chest and he collapsed in a heaving mess on his forearms, dragging in breath desperately. A rage of fury came from the opposite end of the room and Mark, Matt and Alix looked on to see the lightning reforming into Anti, who was glitching on the floor, struggling to get back to his feet. It seemed the internal struggle had crippled him just as much as Jack. Realising now that Jack was still _Jack_ , the trio raced over to him and pulled him back to cover. Alix injected him with a stamina serum as Mark and Matt gave them some cover. Matt spied Damien lurking in the distance and fired at him. The shadow vanished into a puddle, but not before hurling another shadow spear at Matt.

Matt and Mark re-joined the other two as Jack woke back up, dragging in shaky breaths. The three of them shared a disbelieving stare for a few seconds before Matt heard movement. He quickly stood up and fired, forcing Anti to teleport to dodge. "Okay, as much as we've all got something to say right now, we need to finish this first," Matt said quickly. "Any suggestions on how to fight them?"

Jack scoffed. "Well our plan got Mark stabbed and me almost possessed, so I think we'll leave the planning to you, Matt."

Alix jumped in, having observed most of the fight as she had waited for Matt to recover from whatever damage Damien had caused. "Damien seems way too dangerous at close range, we'll need time to dodge his attacks."

Jack nodded. "I'll second that, but I don't think we can fight them together, they'll overwhelm us."

Matt quickly came up with a plan. "All right, here's what we're going to do. Mark, Alix, you two try and separate Anti any way you can. He seems weaker right now and you may be able to take him out. Jack and I will keep Damien busy in the meantime."

Alix caught Mark's eye. "Mark, be extra careful. We've lost your inventory, and that means the resources you were carrying are gone too. We can't afford to get injured too much." Mark nodded back at her, knowing the care he had to take. Anti had already caught him out once, he couldn't afford for it to happen again.

Jack caught Matt's arm. "Matt, Damien will not hesitate to kill you now. Don't stay still for too long, or he'll ensnare you in his vines. If either of us gets trapped like that again, we'll be history."

Matt gave Jack a short nod and the foursome shared a look before they left their cover behind the pillars. "See you on the other side, guys," the older man said strongly before he and Jack broke away, racing to the other side of the room. The pair simultaneously fired projectiles at Damien, catching the shadow's attention. It snarled at them before vanishing into the surroundings.

Anti had reappeared in the centre of the room and was about to fire lightning at Jack when Mark's voice broke through. "Hey! Suckface!" The glitch spun to glare at him before another, female voice this time, chimed at him too.

"Awww, did little Anti get his arse kicked? That's okay, I guess that's how it's meant to go: the fucked up sub-personality loses!" Alix taunted. Anti hissed and teleported behind her, but Alix was ready for that. She tumbled forward, dodging the glitch's swipe as Mark stabbed straight at him. Anti released a lightning burst and Mark took cover behind his shield as Alix hid behind a pillar. She stared at her blade and knew she'd need the other end of her halberd to be effective against Anti. Pulling a smoke bomb out of her pocket, she threw it at them. "Mark, bomb!"

Mark held his breath and closed his eyes as it hit the ground, Anti spluttering at the smog. Alix dashed for her axe and reattached it, completing her weapon once more as Mark threw his shield into Anti's side. The glitch screeched as the spike impaled him before teleporting away. It was then that they noticed something. Anti was starting to become more…glitchy, as if he couldn't hold his physical form any more. Both of them came to the same conclusion: as Anti took more damage, he was losing his body. If they could damage him enough, he would lose his physicality and hopefully no longer be a danger.

Now with a firm plan in mind, Alix and Mark simultaneously charged him, Alix launching from on high as Mark swung for his legs. The glitch teleported, and Mark stretched out his shield, blocking the knife which almost struck Alix before she split her weapon again and threw both halves. While the axe may have missed, the blade implanted itself firmly in Anti's chest. He screamed in equal measures fury and pain before using his lightning, intent on crippling them. Mark pulled Alix in so that she was between him and his shield and the pair held it firm in front of them. The force pushed them back along the floor until Mark's back slammed into a wall.

Anti roared in anger and frustration as his lightning continued to be absorbed by Mark's shield, but it wasn't completely protecting them. Alix's legs were taking a beating from some smaller bolts and both their arms were exhausted from keeping the shield in front of them. They just needed to hold out…Anti couldn't keep this up forever. Sure enough, as time went on the glitch began to phase out more and more, until he was forced to stop. As the attack stopped, Alix took a hold of Mark's shield and the pair separated, charging at Anti from opposite sides. He was still recovering from using so much of his depleted energy at once and couldn't teleport away. Mark roared as he viciously thrust his sword into Anti's chest, the blade stopping as it collided with the spikes of the shield which Alix had thrust into his back.

Mark snarled at Anti as his form began to go crazy, dissolving back into data. "Fuck off…and never come back," he spat before the glitch dissipated completely. The pair stood in shock for a couple of seconds, stunned that Anti was gone, before they heard an agonised scream from the other half of the room. Remembering that it wasn't over yet, Mark took back his shield as Alix retrieved both halves of her weapon. They then injected themselves with serums from Alix's inventory before they charged to the aid of their companions.

On the opposite side of the chamber, Jack and Matt were barely staying ahead of Damien. The shadow creature was hurtling fireballs and spears at each of them, forcing them to stay moving. It meant that neither really had much of a chance to attack. Knowing they needed to change the momentum of the fight, Jack deliberately took the hit from a fireball, hoping it would do a lot less damage than one of the spears. He hissed as the projectile hit his barrier, the force pushing him back several feet. Damien's focus shifted to him for a split second, giving Matt the opening Jack was hoping for.

Damien hissed as an arrow implanted itself in his arm, raising a pillar of fire where Matt was standing. Matt just managed to throw himself out of the way and landed on the ground hard as Jack quickly topped up his stamina. Now with a window of opportunity himself, Jack quickly charged a lightning ball and flung it at Damien. The shadow prepared to dodge it but Jack fired a lightning bolt right after it, setting it off prematurely. Though it struck all three of them, Matt mostly escaped harm. A quick blue health serum fixed him right up, while Jack had managed to block it. Damien's suit was now scorched black from the assault, and he was rapidly losing patience. What had started out as an amusement was rapidly turning into an annoyance.

Having grown tired of their pestering, Damien raised a fire pillar just below Matt. The older man dodged, but not successfully. His right arm was caught inside the pillar and badly burned, causing Matt to screech in pain and crumple to his knee. Damien followed this attack with a stream of black fire, aimed straight at Matt. It soon slammed into a light barrier. Smirking, Damien kept up his fire attack while turning to look at Jack. The Irishman was concentrating on keeping Matt safe from the assault, but it was so wide that it was hitting Jack's shield and then streaming past Matt almost like a black river. Matt was boxed in, he couldn't break free.

Jack's blood ran cold as Damien summoned a spear in his other hand. **_"Choose, Jack,"_** he declared, his smirk growing. **_"Choose who out of you or Matt dies!"_** Then he hurled the spear straight at Jack.

For a few seconds, the world moved in slow motion for Jack. There was no choice, not in his mind. He just prayed it didn't hurt too much. From the angle it was heading at him, it was going to go clean through his neck. At least this way whatever Anti's plan was, it was going to be foiled. _Or is it? What would happen if I died, but Anti could use my body in the outside world?_ That momentary thought almost gave Jack reason to change his mind.

And then, it was decided for him.

Jack watched in disbelief as a figure suddenly blocked the view. **_"Damn you!"_** the shadow screeched as the spear came to a stop, and Jack's eyes widened. The tip of it almost was touching his own chest, having gone clean through the human shield standing in front of him. Jack stood frozen as he saw Mark begin to shake in front of him, his whole body shutting down from the spear impaled through his chest. Finally, Jack came back to his senses and caught Mark as he collapsed.

Damien hissed at seeing Mark willingly stand in front of Jack, holding his shield to try and block the attack. The shadow knew before he'd seen the result exactly what was going to happen, and he was sure Mark did too. An attack that powerful was only ever going to do one thing – it struck into Mark's shield and punctured straight through it. The momentum carried it on through the metal, straight to the next barrier it met: Mark's breastplate. It had come to a halt before it claimed Jack too, but Damien was furious. This was _not_ what was meant to happen, this was not what he expected. A cursory glance over the surroundings revealed that Anti was gone, and Alix had sped over to heal Matt's injuries.

_This will not do. I will not have my revenge like this. This is not what I want._

" ** _I am disappointed,"_** he spoke as he watched Jack pulled the spear out from Mark's chest, plunging a red health serum into the grievous wound. Mark would recover, but this was not what Damien wanted. Not what he _needed._ He wanted Mark to suffer, and this was giving him no satisfaction.

_My second plan is already in motion. My chance will come again._

And then he was gone, vanishing in a puddle of dark goo.

Alix and Matt watched the scene for what felt like half an hour before they realised that Damien wasn't reappearing. For some reason, the shadow had left them, just as it seemed he was about to claim his victory. In reality, it had only been about twenty seconds, but the anticipation of the continuing battle had distorted all sense of time for them. It was seeing Jack frantically working on Mark that caused them to stop waiting for the shadow and rush over to see what damage had transpired. The red serum wasn't working fully, Mark was still bleeding out, and Jack didn't know what to do. Alix fished another from her own inventory along with a stamina serum, plunging both into the site of Mark's wound. Jack gave her a distressed look, and she looked equally perturbed. "Why isn't it working?" he asked desperately.

"Damien's magic was probably infused into the spear," she guessed. "I really don't know, Jack. Damien is-he's not something I know. Not that I'm really sure I know _anything_ anymore."

Matt put a hand on each of their shoulders. "Guys, look," he urged, pointing them to the site of the wound. It was slowly closing. Jack sighed in shaky relief as Matt and Alix both exhaled deeply. "Looks like it's working now. My question is…where the hell did Damien go? And why?"

Jack stared at Mark's wound slowly closing, his emotions in turmoil. "He said he was disappointed. Maybe he realised he was about to lose and left?"

The older man shook his head. "That doesn't seem right; it didn't _feel_ like we were winning."

Alix shook her head at both of them. "This isn't the time or place for this, guys. We don't know if we're safe yet." She quickly jumped up and headed towards the altar at the far end of the room, glad to see it had mostly escaped the carnage of their battle. She picked up the Overseer's Staff and raced back to them, pulling a teleportation stone out of her inventory as she did so. "Let's work this out in the safety of Glaysha."

They teleported away, leaving the battle - and its unanswered questions - behind them.


	16. What Lies Within

They re-appeared in Alix's study in Glaysha, all looking in rough shape. In the light of day they could now see just what condition they were in: Matt's armour on his right arm was completely destroyed and he was covered in what looked like black spots of ink, courtesy of Damien's shadow vines. Alix's legs were scorched and blackened, while her white coat was torn and stained black in several areas. Jack's tunic and cape were stained red with Mark's blood, while his hands were still coated in a thin sheen of the life substance from trying to save his friend. Mark's armour was broken and shattered to the point where it was all but falling away from him, his shield's spikes dented and cracked. His skin was still pale, but it was slowly regaining its colour.

Matt and Alix took a couple of minutes to simply sit in utter exhaustion, still slightly shell-shocked that all four of them had made it out of that battle in one piece – though it had been an incredibly close call multiple times. None of the other three had known it at the time, but Matt had been just barely conscious when they arrived, overhearing much of what had gone on further in the room. He'd known just how precarious a position he had been in and how weak he was; the fact that Jack had managed to figure out a way to stop his fall was something that Matt felt incredibly lucky for. And very grateful. His eyes drifted to the young woman sat a couple of feet away from him, her eyes glazed ever so slightly as she came to terms with everything that had happened. Matt reached out a hand and settled it on her arm lightly. She turned to look at him, and he smiled gratefully at her. Alix blushed at the look Matt was giving her and cast her eyes back down, but Matt saw the broad smile on her face.

Jack sat and stared at Mark as his friend remained unconscious, desperately trying to get his frantic thoughts under control. He now had a fair idea of what had been going through Mark's head after the Thundermane attack, and he really hated being on the other side of things. He could see why Mark had been so pissed at him now, but Jack knew there was a lot more complexity to Mark's feelings. Deep down, he knew that as much as Mark may have willingly jumped in to try and save him in normal circumstances, the situation with Damien may well have compelled him to do it. Knowing Mark as he did, Jack knew that he hated causing anyone harm: and Damien's admission that he had tried to bring in as many other people that Mark cared about was going to play on the other man's mind for a long time. In fact…he wasn't the only one struggling to come to terms with the events of the Dreamscape in general.

His mind spun again as he relived the point that he knew would haunt him more than any other: the moment Anti had very nearly seized control of him. While Mark's near miss in protecting him was going to play on Jack's mind for a long time, what he had seen and _felt_ as he slowly drowned in the madness of Anti was going to be something Jack never forgot. He could still feel the echoes of the glitch's mind within his own, the taunting whispers and lancing pain as they struggled for overall control…Jack knew just how close Anti had come to winning, and that knowledge frightened him. When he left the Dreamscape, he knew he was going to have to start taking much better care of himself mentally. He didn't know what would happen to Anti when they left, whether this version of him even still existed, but he couldn't give his psychotic sub-personality the opportunity. In that split second where he'd felt himself slip away, he'd caught a glimpse of what Anti might do.

Jack knew he'd do anything to stop that from happening. Anything.

A groan from the floor caught everyone's attention and they all watched eagerly as Mark finally woke up, eyes flickering in the much brighter surroundings. He covered his eyes with his left hand, blocking out some of the light as his vision adjusted. When he felt up to it he sat up, with Jack's help, and the four of them looked at each other. Then, Jack let a giggle slip. He bit his lip to keep it back but then Alix joined in, trying her best to keep it down but it was a losing battle. Matt soon began laughing softly, encouraging the other two to start again before Mark at last joined in. They all laughed loudly and heartily, stunned that they had all survived the encounter. Arms circled around Mark as everyone piled in for a long group hug, letting the relief wash over them.

It was a minute or so before they all pulled away, but Mark's eyes soon fell to Jack's hands. He saw the red substance sticking to them, evidence of the younger man's part in saving his life. Their eyes met and they gave each other a serious smile.

They were going to need a _long_ talk.

* * *

 

Courtesy of the purple powder's miraculous properties and some well earned time cleaning themselves of all the remainders of their climatic battle, by the time the quartet emerged into Glaysha no-one would ever have known just what transpired an hour earlier. Alix led the way in the guise of Cassie, Overseer's Staff in hand, as Mark, Jack and Matt followed her. All four of them had beaming smiles on their faces as they walked through the town, and their demeanour earned them some attention. Many people began following the group, especially when they noticed what was being carried in Alix's hand.

She led them to a small square on the opposite side of the town, her smile growing as she saw Eamon standing deep in conversation with several citizens. They were the first to notice the new arrivals, and several of them gasped at seeing the group. Eamon himself turned at hearing the change, his eyes widening as he saw the item in the quartet's possession. Alix approached him with a broad smile and held the staff out, laying it out across both her upturned palms. "Look what the Wanderers helped me take back," she chirped in the young voice of Cassie, her stomach fluttering at seeing the utter wonder on the old man's face.

Eamon took the staff from her with shaking hands, staring at it in wonder. His eyes then turned back upwards and Alix stepped away, allowing the Youtubers to come into full view. The Overseer took a deep breath to steady his voice before speaking. "Gentlemen…I do not believe we could ever thank you enough," Eamon spoke softly. "I know not what Cassie told you of this staff, but it's significance cannot be overstated. While it holds no power and is purely ceremonial, it is a symbol of hope within Glaysha. To see it returned after the Dark One claimed it for himself… I can think of no greater gift for my people." He handed the staff to a guard standing nearby before coming to stand before the trio.

"Your deeds here will never be forgotten, my friends," Eamon said much louder, making sure all those around him could overhear. "From your charity and compassion in aiding those who have suffered, to your courage and feats in reclaiming our talisman: let your names never be forgotten! Please, my friends, celebrate with us this day! We have cause to rejoice!"

Roars resounded from all around the trio and they shared a look of wonder. This was not what they had been expecting. Their eyes searched for Alix and she was grinning from ear-to-ear a few steps away. Mark held out a hand for her and Alix's eyes widened at the gesture. Jack soon replicated the move, Matt following their example but a second later. She looked at them all dumbfounded for a couple of seconds before taking a tentative hold of Mark's hand. In Cassie's form she was much shorter than all of them, and the other two hands soon came to a rest on her arms. "This young lady played a massive role in everything that has happened here, she deserves more of the credit than we do," Mark declared, causing Alix to blush brightly. She turned to look at him and Mark smiled gently; his choice of words had been deliberate. While Glaysha might think he was referencing Cassie, they would all know the truth. It was Alix who Mark was speaking of, and her heart tightened slightly at the distinction.

Eamon nodded in acceptance of Mark's words but Alix soon spoke up. "They are being modest, Eamon. They fought both Dark and his new comrade, Anti, in the Ancient Castle to try and reclaim the staff. While we don't know what this may mean for the future, at least for now, Glaysha is at peace."

The Overseer stared at them in wonder. "You defeated the Dark One?"

All the Youtubers shared another look, slightly more awkward this time. "Well…we don't know if he's gone for good. But you should be safe for the time being," surmised Matt. It was no lie. They knew there was a high chance Damien would return, but he may not even do it in the Dreamscape. Given his retreat earlier, they had no idea when he might next strike – but they would be ready for him. They knew of his existence now.

Eamon gave them a slow nod. "In that case, please remain with us for at least one more night, Wanderers. While we are sure you wish to be on your way, we would be delighted by your company."

None of them had any hesitation in their answer. "We would love to, Eamon," answered Jack, causing Alix to spin and look at them in surprise. As the crowd around them roared again, the trio gave her a smile. "We talked about it before, back in your study, and we all feel comfortable staying here a little longer," Jack continued in a quiet voice.

Mark joined in. "Besides…it would be nice to get to know you outside of a life or death situation, or at least that's my view on it. Can't speak for these two assholes."

Matt swiped at his arm lightly. "Who you calling asshole, asshat?" Mark groaned at the insult as Matt laughed.

Alix looked between them in wonder as Jack gave her a hug, noticing the tremble in her grasp as she returned it. "Remember what we said before? We aren't leaving you behind. I'm sure there's a way to get you home, and we're not the sorts to give up easy."

Her voice was so choked up with emotion that she didn't speak, and instead held Jack tighter with tears in her eyes. She'd never felt luckier than she did right at that moment.

* * *

 

The party that night had gone on until the sun rose the next morning. While the quartet had not lasted quite that long, they had managed to make it through most of the festivities in their honour before they retreated to the safety of Alix's study. All three of the YouTubers had spent much of the night with her, learning more about the woman who had been the innocent victim of Damien's quest for revenge. They learned of her interests and hobbies, surprised to learn that she had in fact seen many of their videos and knew a lot about each of them before their meeting within the Dreamscape. Jack's heart had almost melted when she began singing 'All The Way' when she got slightly more drunk, while Mark and Matt both almost fell over laughing as Jack joined her and they sang at the tops of their lungs. They had all swapped stories about their favourite games and funny moments of their lives, about their families and friends; Alix had been elated to learn more about the people who had once been her idols.

But the next morning, the mood was a lot more sombre between them. Despite all the hardship they had all suffered through inside the Dreamscape, Mark, Matt and Jack were all sad to leave. They felt as if they had learned so much about each other from the experiences they had shared, as well as themselves. It was a journey none of them would ever forget, the good or the bad. Alix had offered them the chance to teleport to the location of the exit portal but all they instantly declined, wanting to spend as much time as they could with the young woman. They were all acutely aware that once the YouTubers left, Alix would be all but alone again: and they wanted to help put it off for her as long as they could.

The journey to the portal took a little over an hour's walk, and they had all made a point of asking more detailed questions about Alix's family. All three of them had felt very strongly about trying to help out in some way, especially when she had expressed her worries about them the night before. After much pestering, Alix gave them the bank account details for her parents. She was infinitely touched that they all wanted to do something to help the family she had lost.

When they finally arrived, the three men stared at it in hesitance. The exit portal looked like a white flame hovering in mid-air, about three feet across and six feet high, while it sat just over a foot off the ground. They stared at it for several seconds while Alix waited patiently. "Don't worry, it shouldn't hurt in any way. The transition back to your bodies should be painless. I double checked everything this morning before we left Glaysha and I'm confident I've re-written the code successfully. Once you touch the portal your minds will be extracted via the Mental Matrix and returned to your bodies. Though I imagine you'll all feel more than a little weird, seeing as you have all been in here several days."

Matt chuckled. "I imagine we'll all have a few panicked messages from back home given how long we've been out of contact."

Jack winced. "Damn, Signe is probably going out of her mind, and I imagine Amy and Amanda are too. What on Earth are we going to tell them?"

Mark hummed in thought. "Honestly, we're going to have to come up with something. One, I don't think they'd believe us if we told them the truth. Two, if we _did_ tell them the truth, they'd never rest easy. Could you imagine telling them about Damien, and the fact he may come back? Let alone Sean telling Signe the truth about Anti… No, it's better if this stays between us, at least for the moment anyway."

That earned a sigh out of Matt. "As much as I just want to go home and see my girls, you're right. Which means we'll have to stick it out the rest of the two weeks that we were scheduled to be in Digitalia to avoid making them suspicious."

Alix frowned. "I'm sorry, guys. I wish you wouldn't continue to have such problems."

Jack nudged her with his elbow. "Don't you dare apologise for that. You're the whole reason we're getting out of here in one piece, and we're going to use this time wisely. We'll see if we can get started on doing some research to find you a way out of here. Digitalia has access to some high-level research from your other team members, right?" Alix nodded at him. "So, we'll get in contact with them and see if we can learn anything. It might take some time, but I'm sure we can find you a way home, Alix."

Her eyes filled with tears again as she was rendered momentarily speechless. "I…Thank you, all of you. Mark, Jack, Matt…I can't believe you guys are willing to do all this for me, you've all got such busy lives."

Mark smiled at her. "Hey, that's what we do. We're there for our fans when they need something to make their lives that bit easier to cope with." He walked over and embraced her in a warm hug. She smiled as she returned the gesture. "Thank you, for all you've done to help us. I'm so sorry you were dragged into this whole mess."

Alix pulled back and gave Mark a watery smile. "Are you kidding me? I got to meet you three! Honestly…I will treasure this."

Matt was next to give her a gentle embrace. "We won't forget about you, and we'll do all we can to find you a way home. I'll maybe even be able to get some of my team involved if the opportunity comes."

She gave him a tight squeeze in response. "Thank you, Matt. That means so much to me."

As Matt pulled away Alix soon found herself in a bone-crushing hug from Jack, and she gripped back just as tight. The two of them had grown the closest, and it tore at Jack's heart to know she was going to be stuck here. "I'll be back, I promise you," he whispered into her ear. "You won't be alone in here."

Alix sighed back quietly. "Jack, that's insane. You live halfway across the world."

"And? What's your point?"

She giggled through the sudden tears in her eyes. "Only you could say that and make it sound halfway sensible." They stood there for a couple more seconds before she spoke again softly. "Thank you…Sean."

Jack smiled at her as she pulled back and stepped away quite suddenly. It was time, and she knew it was only going to get harder as it went on longer. "You guys had better go, the world is waiting for you," she encouraged through all the tears she didn't bother wiping away from her cheeks. She took another couple of steps back and giggled. "Thank you, for being just as amazing as I imagined you all to be. I'll never forget this…and I'll stay safe, I promise you. You've given me hope again, and I don't want to let it go."

The trio gave her matching smiles. "No, thank _you_ , Alix," Mark said back emphatically. "Look after yourself, and we'll be in touch soon. We'll do our best to make sure Anti and Damien aren't going to hurt you anymore."

Alix nodded back. "I know you will." She blew a kiss to them, and their smiles grew. The three YouTubers gave her one last wave before they turned to the portal, stretching out their hands to touch the flame. She watched with a heavy heart as their bodies seemed to freeze in time, and then turned to sparkles in the wind. They blew away in the early morning breeze, almost as if they had never been there. Alix stood there with tears streaming down her face, and a sad smile on her face as she thought on the adventure she had shared with them, knowing she would never forget it.

"Thank you…"

* * *

 

Mark was the first to awake, and he groaned as the fog slowly shifted from his head. He blinked several times, his eyes feeling alien as they were used for the first time in days. A small headache was sitting in the back of his head and it intensified as he sat up. As his hands ran over his temples he felt the small discs situated there and pulled them away, seeing the yellow glow on the emitters as he held them in his hand. He then cast a glance over himself and realised he wasn't wearing armour anymore, staring at his jeans and t-shirt. That was when it finally sank in. _We're back._

A painful groan to his left caught Mark's attention and pushed himself to his feet, seeing Jack wince as the light hit his eyes. "Mother _fucker_ that's bright!" the Irishman exclaimed as he quickly shut his eyes again. Mark rested a hand on the younger man's shoulder and pulled him upright, watching as Jack slowly began to regain his bearings. "Damn, this feels so strange." He then looked down and saw that he wasn't in his tunic and cape any more. "Whoa…"

The half-Korean sat on the edge of Jack's capsule with a knowing look. "So, I'm not the only one who feels a little out of place now?"

Jack nodded in agreement. "It's…I can't really describe it. It's almost like it was _part_ of me. Being a mage in Glaysha really did feel like second nature to me, I'm kinda going to miss it."

"I know what you mean, though I'm not that sorry to see all my armour go. It was heavy as _shit."_ Jack laughed as they heard another voice groan from behind them. They shared a look and turned to see Matt sitting up in his pod, rubbing his head. "Hey, man. You okay?"

Matt turned to look at them briefly before closing his eyes again. "Yeah, I'm all right, my head just fucking _hurts_. I've had plenty of headaches before, but this one really takes the cake."

Jack looked at him in concern. "Maybe you're more sensitive to the supersonics than we are? I've got a little headache, but it's more the sort you get when you've slept for too long, and Mark looks like he's all right." Mark nodded in agreement.

The oldest man sighed. "Yeah, maybe. Ugh, I think I just need to move around for a bit." Jack and Mark helped Matt out of his pod, and the three of them stood there for a minute to give Matt time to adjust. Once he decided he was as good as he was going to get without some painkillers, they walked back to the control console.

All three of them froze at seeing the body there, eyes fixed open.

After sharing a long look amongst themselves Matt was the one to approach first, looking over the form they had originally come to know as Damien. "Damn, dude…" He felt for a pulse and was astonished when one was there, though weak. "Guys, he's alive!"

"What?!" Both Jack and Mark exclaimed in astonishment, coming to examine the form with Matt. They all stared uncomfortably for several seconds before Jack spoke up. "What the hell are we going to do, guys? We don't even know this guy's name!"

Matt hummed in thought. "Let's take him to a nearby town and say we found him, we can't risk calling the cops here. There would be way too many questions given the circumstances, and if they found the Dreamscape-"

Mark hissed in aggravation. "Shit, you're right. If they found out what the Dreamscape could do they'd tear it apart."

Jack's eyes hardened. "We can't let anyone hurt Alix, who knows what that would do to her. He seems stable enough for now, just catatonic. Let's come up with a plan before we make a move though, we need to think carefully on what we're going to say to all the questions we are sure to get."

Matt quickly stood and winced at the thundering pain in his head. "All right, but give me some time to grab some painkillers from my room, yeah? And I think we should maybe call round everyone to let them know we're okay." At that all of them pulled out their phones, seeing the several dozen missed calls each. "Damn, Amanda's been trying me constantly for two days."

"Amy's been doing the same," added Mark softly.

"I've got fuck knows how many messages from Signe, she's really worried," Jack said sadly. "All right, we'll split up for a little while, yeah? We'll meet back here when we're all done." Matt nodded at them and quickly headed off. Mark was about to do the same, but Jack caught his arm before he left. "Mark…we need a talk too, man."

Mark nodded at him seriously. "I know we do, Sean. I mean, _Jesus,_ so much fucked up shit happened in there, and we both need to work through that. We can do that once we sort out his first mess, all right? I'm not running away from it, I'm not, but we need to solve this first."

After giving a reluctant nod, Jack let go of Mark's arm. "Just…answer me one thing first, yeah?"

The older man turned to face him fully. "Sure, hit me with it."

Jack hesitated before he spoke again. "You knew, didn't you? You knew when you stood to protect me from Damien's spear that it was going to go straight through your shield, didn't you?"

Mark gave him a stare back. "Just as you knew what could happen to you should your shield break against that Thundermane."

"You didn't even think twice."

"Neither did you."

The pair stood in silence for a few seconds before Jack gave Mark a small smile. "Thanks, man."

Mark smiled back at him. "I'd do it all over again, Sean."

Inside, however, Mark couldn't help but wonder if someday he might be faced with the reality of it transpiring again. _I won't let Damien drag them into this again, not if I have any say in it. If this fuck wants to mess with me, he can; he's not going to hurt those around me to do it though._

* * *

 

Matt walked briskly back to his room, his headache growing worse by the second. He rummaged around in his backpack and downed a couple of painkillers quickly before swallowing a glass of water. Realising that he probably needed some time to stop his mind from frantically spinning, Matt leant back on his bed and promptly fell asleep.

Seconds later, however, he was back on his feet.

Reaching into his pocket to take out the phone which lay there, he used his connection on the Digitalia network to link into the Dreamscape mainframe. A few seconds later he got the message confirming the connection. A new app appeared on his phone and he clicked into it, seeing the black screen in response. Green text soon popped up.

Tͨ̂͛͌̿ͤͮo͊̋͋ͫ̌̓̊o͇̹̟͓̹̦k͛̓̉̓ ̭͕̥͍̰̲͕̋y͈̣̐o͈̪͌ͪ̔ͦ͐u̘͔̼̱͚̥̐ͪͨ̍ͧͫ ̗͔͔̋̅f̼̬ü͖̼͉̖̲̫ͣͫͬͤ̈́c͇̖̻̘̗͐̈̂̅k̗̣̥̪̠͓͗i̫̣͍̹̳n̅̏ͬͬ͌̿g̥̗͈̪͖̱̎̋͊ͅ ̩̲̭̬ͪ̏l̩̰̹̗̲ͦ̉́̀ͅo̺̰̓̓n̻̬g̺̖͓͍̑͗ ͉̻͇͊̔ͧͮ̔̚e͔ͩ̿̈́ͅn̞̝͎̘̺̙̱̈́̆ͤo̭̹̜̜͔͕̓̒̅̇̃̑u̗̱ͭ̍͛̾̋͛ğ̠ͫh͉̀͊͑͗̍

A sneer was the response before he typed back.

**_You know nothing of subtlety, Anti._ **

A couple of seconds later another message appeared.

F̲͉͇ͦ̍̋ͮͥ̒ü͖̏ͪ̽ͅĉ͕̫̪̣̤̖̓̇̓̚ḱ̾̈ ̙̠̥͎ͭ̄̌̑̋́̇o͙̗̟̻̳̪͈͐̃̓f̖̳̭̱͈̹͙f̪͚͇̭̋,̹͕̚ ̲̠͍͊̃D̤̳̦ͬͭ̀ͣ̌̈ả̦̝̩̗͇m͇̱̔̑ͫͤͮ̏ḭ̘͚͇̘͆̏ͣe̱͖̝͑͗ͮ̂̑ͭ͑n̜ͧͬ̓̃̇̽ͪ.͈͈̣̿ ̰͇̪̞̭͋̅͂̅

Wandering through to the bathroom adjacent to the bedroom, Damien smirked as he caught sight of Matt's normally blue eyes tinted to a slight red in the mirror. _Hmm, interesting side effect. Could this be because I am sharing control of a host, rather than taking sole command?_ Ignoring that for now, the shadow replied again.

**_Just prepare yourself, and do not make yourself obvious when this lot go looking._ **

P̜̻i͈ͯ͊̄̓̐̿ͭs̭̉̓͌s̺ ͔̳͉̗̖̌͌ͪ͑ͬ̎o̺̭͉̫̖̙̿ͣf͉̣͍̦̃f͕͔̙̩̰ͭ͋ͮͮ ͕̠̑̓̀y̞ͫ̾̄ͭ̎oͯṷ̙͇͗̇ ̑̓ͣa͑r̩͍̮r̫̣͓̝̈ö̦͖̙́͗̌́̆ĝ̮̩̰̞̫͉̌͂a̲̗̼̰̟͕̤ͬ̂ͮn̜̱̟ͧ̐̂ͦͪͮ͊t̥̞̣̻͓̙̑ͮͨ̄ ̖̲̰̟̮͇ͪͥͨf̫̪͖̤͋̑͌u͉̘̭̼̟͖ͧ̃ͮͯ̍̀c͎͂̌̉k͉̤͍̼̖͔̈ͮ̿̿ͅ, ̙̙̮̟I ̹͓̘̩̪ͯͣ̏̓̃̀̅ͅk͍̙͗n͖͔̻͓͇̝̣̊ͦ̓͒̿͗̏o̹̜̹̘ͣͣẉ̠̳͖̍̑ͯ̊ͣ̔ ͉̬̺ͭ̓w̰̣͕͇̽h̺̱̭̎̓a͖̱͊͒t͇͙͇̻̮̠́̎̏̃͒̂̚ ̑͗I̞̬̝͍̱ͤ̐'̭̣͙͙̩mͦ̈́̚̚ ̞̝͈̝͔͓͔̾ͪ̍͆̈̃ͭd̀̈̓o̭̻̒̈i̺̖͒ñ̗̫̺̹̻̣̑ͭ̎͒g̠̲̼͍͍̝͑ͮͣ̊̈̚.̙ͪ̉̐͆

Damien scoffed and rolled his eyes as he stared at the mirror, admiring the view. "Well…it seems taking Matt hostage and leaving a fragment of myself within him proved most fruitful. I will be most intrigued to see how this goes." A laugh reverberated through the room as Damien shifted his focus, tapping into his limited mystical arts to reveal the truth behind the reflective surface. The surroundings of the room melted away and the whole mirror appeared black, save for the lone figure suspended in mid-air. Matt was floating in slumber, his skin tinted white with black veins protruding from his skin. "Mirrors are fascinating things, showing so much. You need only know how to look at them." The shadow sniggered. "This will prove to be most interesting. Now I can watch Mark without that stupid mutt of his barking at me. And once the time comes…I will draw you back into my grasp."

Knowing that he probably would not have much time, Damien walked away and tapped the phone again, sending one last message.

**_Just get to work, you have much to do._ **

He then deleted the app from Matt's phone, removing any trace of its existence. "We can't have you knowing that I'm in here now, can we?" he mused before returning back to Matt's former position. "Patience is an art…I can wait a little longer."

With that, Damien surrendered control.

Ten minutes later, Matt was startled awake by a knock on his door. His headache was still there, but not as bad as it once was. He stood up and opened it to find both Mark and Jack on the other side, looking at him in concern. "You all right, man?" Mark asked in concern.

Matt yawned. "Yeah, sorry, just fell asleep there."

"Want us to bugger off for a while longer while you call Amanda and Luna?" Jack offered.

The older man shook his head. "Nah, it's fine. I'll call them from out here, the signal in here isn't great anyway. How are Amy and Signe?"

The trio headed back to the main area of the complex in deep conversation, debating on what their next move was going to be with Damien's former host, completely unknowing of the shadow's presence: exactly as it wanted. With enough time, his next chance would come.

_Tell me, Mark. To what lengths will you go to kill me this time? Let's see when it comes down to it, whether you are any different from **him** after all._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that is the end of the first book of the Dreamscape Saga! I hope you will all check out the rest of the series on my profile, and that you enjoyed it! Please feel free to leave me your feedback, I welcome any comments and criticisms so long as they are not malicious.


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